Museum of Fine Arts Boston

The MFA offers many programs and FREE professional development opportunities for arts teachers. They offer museum visit + studio experience for students. Transportation grant to get your students to the MFA, etc. Please take a minute and look at their newsletter and also visit their website.

Shakespeare Now High School Art Contest

The Shakespeare Now Theatre Company is inviting Massachusetts high school students to submit design entries for the program cover of their fall production. This year they are presenting Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET.
Shakespeare Now! Theatre Company also travels to schools with performances of Shakespeare's plays and workshops with students. They may have performed at your school over the past years.
ROMEO AND JULIET will run Nov. 3 - 21, 2008 for students and general audiences at Mass. College of Art, Boston, Ma. The contest winner will have his/her artwork seen by people from all over Massachusetts, and will be credited in the program. For more details about this contest visit www.bpsarts.wikispaces.com.

GIFTED IN THE ARTS TWO DAY CONFERENCE

What a treat! Honestly. For many of us who attended this two day conference at the Four Points by Sheraton in Norwood this was a great opportunity for networking and getting inspired. I want to thank the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Univesity of Massachusetts, Amherst, all members of the planning team, and all the wonderful students who performed for all of us at the conference. I heard many of my fellow arts educators talk about the sad conditions under which many of us are working and our struggles to turn around our arts programs to better serve our community. It is a reality that the arts are not a priority for many in positions of leadership, yet this conference took place thanks to the leadership of many others who truly support us and our students' right to a well rounded education. Hats off to them! These two days were inspiring. Our conversations exposed the fact that many of us should advocate and get more involved. I hope you take the time to post your thoughts on this blog and join with other arts educators to begin this very important networking process so we can all support each other. Oh yeah, and what about talented students?

Teen Video and Film Program at the ICA

Hello Everyone,
The information below is from Mr. Joe Douillette.

Hello Teachers, Administrators and Youth Workers!

I run the Fast Forward Teen Video and Film program at the ICA, a filmmaking program provided free of charge to high school students. The work of Fast Forward students has been celebrated around the globe, and many former students have gone on to arts-related colleges and careers. The class meets weekly at the ICA for the full school year, culminating with a screening of work at the ICA on May 8^th, 2009. This year I am accepting 18 new students. I am focusing my recruitment on sophomores and juniors, although any interested student should apply. No experience is necessary. We train the students as long as they are interested in learning and creating. If you have students interested in this opportunity to make video and films, let me know the best way to introduce them to it:

-A short presentation in your classroom
-Fliers, applications and a DVD of work provided for you to distribute
-Free tour of the museum and a presentation in our Digital Studio (during or after school)
-Presentation at an assembly in your school/program
-Provide the student(s) my contact info and have them get in touch with me directly

Our deadline for applications is September 30^th, 2008. So, please, be in touch soon!

Sound Mixing, 3D Design and Filmmaking for High School Students at the ICA in Boston this fall!

Free for Boston Public School students!
For more information go to www.icateens.org
AND CLICK ON TEEN NEW MEDIA CLASSES
For an application go to http://www.icaboston.org/ica/assets/pdf/TNMP_Application_FA_08.pdf
or contact Krista Dahl at kdahl@icaboston.org or call 617-478-3178
Open House information sessions on October 2^nd, and 9^th, 3 – 6 PM at the ICA.

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Card Contest

The 2008 VLA Holiday Card Contest is here. VLA is looking for artwork from Boston Public High School artists for their holiday cards. Your artwork should reflect the positive vibe of the season: unity, diversity, peace, freedom, winter wonderland... (No religious themes will be eligible.) All artwork must be received or postmarked by Friday, October 24, 2008. For more information visit the VLA Holiday Card Contest site.

OFA Ceramics Program

Mosaics

Saturday afternoons, 2 - 4 pm

October 18 - November 22, 6 sessions

or

Sunday mornings, 9 am - 1 pm

January 11 - 25, 3 sessions

Instructor: Lisa Houck

This course will provide an in-depth experience with mosaic design, fabrication, and mounting practices. Each participant will create a mosaic with traditional Italian glass smalti. Participants will gain experience with the unique design potential of this media and learn more about its rich history. The instructor will share her recent experiences with large public and private art commissions for tile and mosaic projects. The $100 lab fee covers the cost of one square foot of materials.

*option: 1 graduate level credit through Framingham State College, Fee $65

Lisa Houck www.lisahouck.com
MFA Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Lisa is interested in creating a world of color and pattern, with compositions that are complex enough to suggest something new each time you view the artwork. Clay and mosaics are her media for public art projects.

To download registration form or view other courses, visit our web site.

For any questions, email Shawn Panepinto or call at 617-495-8680 with any questions.

Office for the Arts at Harvard

Ceramics Program

219 Western Ave.

Boston, MA 02134

t. 617.495.8680

f. 617.496.9787

www.fas.harvard.edu/ceramics

TEEN CURATORIAL PROGRAM

The Cloud Foundation seeks teens (ages 14 - 19) attending Boston-area Public high schools who want to explore performance, visual art, film, and media and who are ready to try something new!

We're hiring! The Cloud Foundation's Teen Curatorial Program gives teens attending metro-Boston public high schools a chance to critically consider their peers' works of art, film, and performance, and to conceptualize and create a teen event series. The Teen Visual Art, Spoken Word, and Film Curators work with professional artists to create exhibitions, film screenings, and spoken word performances, and to design marketing and promotional materials. The curatorial groups jointly design and coordinate the YouthFusion event series, which brings more than 300 young artists and performers and over 1,000 audience members to Cloud Place every year. All Teen Curators are paid a monthly stipend.
The Teen Visual Art Curators meet on Mondays from 3:30 - 6:00 at Cloud Place
The Teen Film Curators meet on Wednesdays from 3:30 - 6:00 at Cloud Place
The Teen Spoken Word Curators meet Fridays from 3:30 - 6:00 at Cloud Place
To apply and to learn more, visit www.cloudfoundation.org/programs/teencurators.html

FREE ART AND PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS FOR TEENS!

Free art and performance workshops for teens led by local, professional artists in the Cloud Place studio, media lab, and performance space at 647 Boylston St. in Boston.

To apply, download an application form at www.cloudfoundation.org/programs/index.html and email it to info@cloudfoundation.org or fax it to 617.262.2848. Application deadline is September 29th.

Contemporary Dance
Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:30 - 6:00pm | September 23 - December 18, 2008
This semester-long class will focus on dance and movement as a means of self-expression. Each class will include a lesson in technique from various disciplines including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and modern dance with emphasis on understanding basic movement vocabulary. ...read more.

Performance Art
Wednesdays 3:30 - 6:00 | October 1 - December 17, 2008
Don't confuse performance art with theater! Performance artists create live actions using the body to promote (or provoke) a response from their audience. This workshop will look at different ways to approach an audience, and will explore creating work for different types of audiences: public, private, solo, and digital. ... read more.

Art As Process
Saturdays 10:30 - 3:30 (lunch provided) | October 4 - December 13, 2008
A transformative visual art workshop for young people who want the challenge of investigating new and unique ways of making art and expressing their own ideas visually. The workshop explores painting, drawing, sculpture, and other media with an eye toward combining materials in unusual ways. ... read more.

Digital Animation
Saturdays 10:30 - 2:30 (lunch provided) | October 18 - December 13, 2008
This 8-week workshop introduces teens to the principles of digital animation from flipbooks, to pixilation, to stop-motion, to claymation and puppetry. Participants learn to use a variety of animation software platforms to create their own short animated films in the Cloud Place media lab. ... read more.

If you have any questions about the Teen Curatorial Program or the Artists' Workshops, please contact Cloud Place at 617.262.2949 or info@cloudfoundation.org

From the Top

From the Top celebrates the passion, dedication and personal stories of the nation’s outstanding young classical musicians. Through entertaining radio and television broadcasts, online media, and a national tour of live events and outreach programs, these performers inspire the pursuit of excellence, and encourage participation in the arts as an integral part of a vibrant and civil society.

From the Top’s training and mentorship programs prepare young musicians to connect with new audiences, serve as positive peer role models, and give back to their communities in many ways.

From the Top records its NPR radio and PBS television programs before live audiences across the country. From the Top is pleased to extend a discount of $5 off for Boston Public Schools families for radio tapings at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. Find upcoming shows at www.fromthetop.org, and redeem the BPS discount at the box office.

2008/2009 Annual Children's Art Exhibition

This year's theme asks children to express how they are and can be a hero for the planet. Educators and parents may upload children's artworks to the Crayola Online Gallery by November 1, 2008. For more details about the prices and instructions visit www.crayola.com/artexpo