National Arts Education Initiative in Johnson, VT

Vermont Studio Center’s Learning in Art & Culture Program: National Arts in Education Week, September 12-18, 2010

This September, Vermont Studio Center’s Learning in Art & Culture Program begins its 19th year at Johnson Elementary School (JES) providing hands on instruction to 210 students this week. JES students receive direct instruction from artists-in-residence of VSC’s international creative community. Artists visit the classroom to present their work and lead art projects that draw from the aesthetic values particular to their own cultural traditions.

The Learning in Art & Culture Program was begun in 1992 by VSC’s Executive Director George Pearlman and Andrea Pearlman, owner of the Studio Store, in response to the loss of state funding for the arts in our local primary schools. With the support of private and public funding, the program continues to be a success. Public art shows also offer the whole community—students, parents, teachers and local residents—an opportunity to celebrate the artistic endeavors and creative potential of the young people of Lamoille County. 

In recent years, the program has expanded its reach by offering creative revitalization residencies to visual art and English teachers who are interested in developing new creative curricula that exposes their students to the cultural and artistic resources of the Studio Center. This year (with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council) teachers locally and nationally are able to apply.

To celebrate National Arts in Education Week, LACP coordinator Arista Alanis is scheduling opportunities throughout the fall for community members to visit and/or volunteer in the Learning in Art & Culture Program at JES. Please email Arista at aalanis@vermontstudiocenter.org for more information. For a virtual tour of the classroom and interviews with alumni of the Program, please view “The Learning in Art and Culture Program: 2009-2010” video.