Arts Education Grants

Grant funds are available for ARTS EDUCATION programs in Columbia, Greene & Schoharie County K-12 public schools working in partnership with an artist (musician, literary, performing artist, etc) or arts organization.  Not intended to replace the role of certified art teachers, these grants seek to enrich & enhance student experience of the arts and creative process. Eligible projects must involve at least one class and include 3 contact periods between the same artist/group and students.  These funds provided by the Decentralization program of New York State Council on the Arts and administered by Greene County Council on the Arts in partnership with Questar III. Technical assistance at any stage of the process is available, just give us a shout!  Next funding cycle will be for the fall 2013/spring 2014 school year.  For information call 943-3400 or email colettegcca@hotmail.com.

Basic Requirements:

  • A teacher and a core group of students (one or more classes) must be identified who will have sustained contact with the same artist or organization for a minimum of three (3) contact sessions. These contact sessions must be separated by at least one day.
  • Generally, the school partner contributes some cash toward the expenses of the project. The more the school is able to contribute, the higher the proposal may score during panel deliberations.  A 50% match to the request in the form of cash and/or in-kind resources is required and can come from PTSO funds, BOCES arts cosers, district professional development funds, fundraisers and other grants.
  • In most cases the artist or arts organization will be the primary applicant (if based in the same county as the collaborating school).  When the artist/arts org is from outside the county, a local conduit such as library or PTO may serve in this capacity.  The participating school itself cannot be the applicant.
  • Projects do not need to be interdisciplary, but often the more successful and imaginative projects are, and reflect collaboration between artist & different subject area teachers.
  • Projects MUST focus on exploration of art & artistic process 
  • Projects MUST center on the development and implementation of sequential, hands-on study that incorporates one or more art forms

Our 2013 Arts Education Awards include: 

Columbia County:

            Taconic Hills High School PTO  & Shakespeare & Company – $2000 for program to produce a Fall Festival of Shakespeare Twelfth Night.  Students will experience open rehearsals, reflection and evaluation, break down the actions and motivation of characters, and conduct plot analysis.  Exploring the language and passion of this tour de force, 9-12th graders will research, memorize lines, participate in stage design, costuming and promotional aspects of the performance. 

            Germantown PTSA & Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company  - $2884 for Germantown High School grades 9 – 12 to work with the Company in developing The Things We Carry, a project inspired by Tim O’Brien’s masterwork of contemporary literature about the Vietnam War.  Using O’Brien’s work as a platform, students will create writing, visual art, music and songs based on the (emotional, physical, spiritual) things they carry in their own lives.  Student work will be translated into dance, shared at the process stage, and culminate in an April performance.

            John Farrell & Montgomery Smith School in Hudson – $2684 in support of Many Different Languages, a music and songwriting project for grade 3 classes with Farrell and students from the American International School of Budapest, Hungary.   Together, the students will exchange letters, create and interpret lyrics, contribute artwork, and participate in making a music video.

Greene County:

            Sandra Dutton & Catskill Elementary School - $425 for The Cinnamon Hen, an art and language arts program for grade 2 with award winning author/illustrator Dutton.  Students will discover how a picture book is developed, how ideas grow, how drawings and ideas are revised.  Students will also write and illustrate their own Cinnamon Hen adventure. 

            Coxsackie-Athens Foundation for Education & Julie Kabat - $1447 for Literacy to Life, a dance, music, and theater program for EJ Arthur Elementary grade 1 students.  Literacy to Life is a descriptive writing project which features creative movement, music and theatre games to help students illustrate their ideas with actions and to eventually translate these ideas into written word.  

Schoharie County:

             Middleburgh Public Library & Suzanne Bloom - $2009 for The Art of the Book- Illustrating Adventures, an ELA and visual arts program in which Middleburgh Middle School grade 7 students will turn personal experience into picture stories with the art of hand crafting books. 

            Middleburgh High School & Kim & Reggie Harris - $1559 for Honoring the Emancipation music and US history program for grades 9-12.  Honoring will provide insight into African American history and culture, the impact of racial bigotry and Jim Crow laws.  Selected songs will explore the topics of freedom, justice, peace and love of country. 

Arts Education Partnership award recommendations are determined by a combined Greene,Columbia, and Schoharie County review panel with experience applicable to the task.  Awards are made in accordance with NYSCA guidelines.  For information on any of the awarded programs, or to discuss a potential artist/school partnership for the 2013-14 school year, contact Director of Community Arts and Arts Education Grants, Colette Lemmon at 518-943-3400/ Colettegcca@hotmail.com.