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4th Annual Bay Area Creative Impact celebrating National Arts in Education Week

NATIONAL ARTS IN EDUCATION WEEK Celebrated with three regional anchor events planned through the collaborative efforts of arts and education organizations making a Creative Impact in the San Francisco Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO Bay Area, 2014: 

In 2010 the US House of Representatives passed legislation designating the second week of September as Arts in Education Week.  The resolution expressed congressional support for arts education: whereas arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.

Sheila Jordan, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools, has played a leadership role over the last decade to turn the tide from a focus on test scores, to a rich, engaging education for every child that includes learning in and through the arts.  “Music, dance, drama, visual and media arts are essential ways for students to explore key ideas in science, math and history.  They are essential human languages key to child development and a robust classroom and school culture where students learn to communicate, collaborate and think critically.”

Lori Fogarty, Executive Director and CEO at the Oakland Museum of California, is proud to host a Creative Impact event for the second year in a row.  “This innovative collaboration of arts and education institutions is an exemplar for our new way of doing business.  Arts organizations and school districts are collaborating in new ways to blur the lines of community and school, and to create a seamless set of experiences for students, teacher and families where we create in schools and learn in community arts venues.”  Fogarty will be in conversation with Louise Music, Executive Director of Integrated Learning at the Alameda County Office of Education, to discuss how communities are being enlivened and students are being engaged through new partnerships between arts and education institutions.

Creative Impact is an alliance of arts and education organizations representing individuals and communities across the San Francisco Bay Area, dedicated to strengthening, enriching and improving the social fabric of our community through arts education.  Creative Impact Lead Partners: Alameda County Arts Commission, Alameda County Office of Education, Asian Art Museum, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Cal Performances, Oakland Museum of California, Performing Arts Workshop, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco Unified School District. Visit CreativeImpactSFBay.wordpress.com.

Home to a flourishing and culturally diverse community of artists and the organizations that support them, the Bay Area has long been an innovative leader in arts education initiatives, serving as a model for the national conversation around the essential role played by the arts in educating young minds. National Arts in Education Week, September 7-13, 2014 provides a central platform for Bay Area educators, artists and arts organizations to engage and connect young people, families and communities by participating in the wealth of creative experiences available throughout the region.

Organizations around the Bay Area will host a myriad of events including workshops, shows, exhibits, and open houses throughout the week of September 7-13. Find out more at www.artiseducation.org/calendar.

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About the San Francisco Arts Commission and Community Arts and Education

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. We believe that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being. Established by charter in 1932, SFAC programs integrate the arts into all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artists Licensing, and the San Francisco Symphony Youth and Community Concert Series. The agency’s core values are committed to the principle that all residents have equal access to arts experiences in all disciplines, that programs are provided comprehensively and evenly throughout the City, and that they are innovative and of the highest quality.

The Community Arts and Education program celebrates the importance of arts and culture in our daily lives by supporting cultural arts activities and arts education in San Francisco’s diverse communities. The program started in 1967 when a group of artists and arts activists brought a radical notion to the San Francisco Arts Commission: fund artists and arts organizations to work in neighborhood and community settings. The program was called the Neighborhood Arts Program and the total budget for the first fiscal year was $25,000, which was provided by the Arts Commission President at the time, Harold Zellerbach. Today, the Community Arts and Education program continues to nurture art for and by the people, where they live and work, in our neighborhoods and online.

SFAC Community Arts and Education website: http://www.sfartscommission.org/CAE .

About the Alameda County Arts Commission and ACOE’s Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership
The Alameda County Arts Commission is a County agency that was founded in 1965 to support arts and cultural activities throughout the County’s fourteen cities and other unincorporated areas. The Alameda County Arts Commission is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Alameda County by nurturing a thriving environment for the arts and for cultural activities; promoting economic opportunities for Alameda County’s artists and arts organizations through programs such as arts and cultural funding, public art, and arts education; encouraging public participation in the arts; and actively advocating for the arts. The Arts Commission supports all art forms, such as music, dance, visual arts, literature, theater, film and video, traditional crafts and folk arts, and new media. The Alameda County Arts Commission is committed to cultivating lifelong meaningful experiences and educational opportunities in the arts for all Alameda County residents.  All of the Arts Commission’s programs and services are based on the belief that the arts and creativity are an essential part of every successful and thriving community.

The Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership, founded by the Alameda County Office of Education, is a collaborative network of the Alameda County Office of Education, the Alameda County Arts Commission, 18 Alameda County school districts, their administrators, teachers, and arts specialists, community arts partners, representatives from higher education, and parents. The Alliance works together to create systemic change and develop public understanding about the essential role of arts learning in a high-quality education for every child, in every school, every day.

Alameda County Arts Commission website: www.acgov.org/arts

Alameda County Office of Education website: www.acoe.org

Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership website: www.artiseducation.org

About the Marin County Office of Education

The Marin County Office of Education offers programs and services for students, teachers, and families in Marin County. MCOE services nineteen school districts in our county, supporting technology and educational services in public as well as private K 12 institutions.  The Sausalito Art Festival Foundation has brought art, artists and community together through various events throughout the year, including its flagship Sausalito Art Festival, as well as scholarships, grants, education programs and public events that encourage, promote, and support the arts in order to build a strong community. All proceeds from the annual Festival support Bay Area arts and community non-profits through grants, artist awards, and scholarships. Through this support, the Festival makes a significant investment in the future of its community, totaling over $500,000 in recent years.  Youth in Arts’ mission is to provide students with high quality experiences and instruction in the visual and performing arts, and to enrich the community with cultural events.

Marin County office of Education http://www.marinschools.org/

Sausalito Arts Festival Foundation http://sausalitoartfestival.org/

Youth in Arts www.youthinarts.org/

About the Oakland Museum of California & Friday Nights @ OMCA: a weekly late-night event occurring every Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), Friday Nights @ OMCA features half-off museum admission, a selection of 10-12 gourmet food trucks from Off the Grid, extended museum hours, in-gallery programming, local beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages, live music, dancing, hands-on family activities, and more. Gallery admission is half off for adults and free for ages 18 and under. Event parking in the Museum garage is $5. OMCA brings together collections of art, history and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people with groundbreaking exhibits, and more than 1.9 million objects.

OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage. OMCA is located at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland, situated between downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt. OMCA offers on-site underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the new 1000 Oak Street main entrance. For more information, visit museumca.org.