We are seeing so many articles and studies these days which point to the many benefits of arts education. This latest article, Arts Education Transforms Societies, from the Huffington Post creates a link to what we’ve been saying for a while: Creativity and independent thinking are the skills that will create tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.
Plus these amazing statistics and facts about Arts Education:
1,500 CEOs from around the world named creativity as the leading skill needed for business success.
Arts education increases employment rates by raising high-school graduation rates.
Low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely to graduate from college as their peers with no arts education.
Low-income students with a high participation in the arts have a dropout rate of 4 percent, in contrast to their peers with a low participation in the arts who have a dropout rate of 22 percent.
This year, our Art in the Community program will bring free programs to teach more than 1,600 local children through dozens of after-school and summer programs at elementary, middle and high schools, community centers, the Richmond Main Public Library and our most recent addition, a day-time program at Washington Elementary School in Richmond. These programs are entirely supported through the generosity of foundations, businesses and individuals.
This past Sunday, hundreds of people gathered at the Richmond Art Center to celebrate the life of Kato Jaworski, our long-time friend, a creative artist and the admired Studio Art Director of the Art Center, who passed away on December 28, 2014 after a serious illness. It was a beautiful day that fully embraced the unique person that we’ve been lucky and honored to have known since she became part of the Richmond Art Center in 2005, and it celebrated the incredible community that Kato created here. You can view the memorial program here.
A slideshow of images of Kato and her artwork. Thank you to everyone who contributed images.
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Our Art in the Community program is leading an effort to bring the nationally recognized STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) education to Richmond in collaboration with several local organizations. These programs bring arts back into local schools while embracing the philosophy mentioned in the article: “Arts integration seems to be the best form of differentiation out there because it taps into so many different interests and abilities and forms of learning.”
Another important component of our Art in the Community program is offering annual professional development workshop series to help teachers integrate art into their classroom through hands-on activities. As the article stated, we also acknowledge that arts integration can be a hard model for teachers to embrace if they don’t feel like they themselves are competent artists.
What’s Your Superhero Power? That’s one of the questions our teaching artist, Neil Rivas, is asking a group of 15 students in our “Clavo’s School for Young Superheroes” class at the Atchison Village community center. The students are using art, literacy and digital media to envision themselves as a superhero charged with the goal of helping their community.
The students, ages 7 to 10 years old, are writing out and drawing their superhero origin stories in sketchbooks and will then create the special garments that their superhero will wear. Once these costumes are finished, the kids will visually document their superhero during a photo shoot. All of this work will culminate with the students making a final presentation to an audience of parents, teachers and community members.
Like all of our Art in the Community programs, this class is helping to bring arts education to children who don’t have access to it in their school day. Equally important, this class is also a rehearsal and a way to get kids thinking about the type of work they could do in the future.
It is with great sadness that we inform you that we have lost a longtime friend, creative artist and admired colleague. Kato Jaworski, our Studio Art Director, passed away on Sunday, December 28, 2014 after a serious illness. She will be dearly missed by her family, friends, and the artists, students and colleagues she touched at the Richmond Art Center and others in the Richmond community.
We count ourselves extremely lucky and honored to have known Kato since she became part of the Center in 2005. Her incredible energy, boundless enthusiasm and welcoming spirit permeated our hallways and flowed beyond our walls into the community. Kato was a natural leader, a passionate community builder, an inspiring artist and teacher, and a trusted friend and colleague.
Under her leadership this past decade, thousands of adults, teens and children from all across the Bay Area came to the Art Center to experience our engaging art programs. Knowledgeable and inspiring as an arts administrator, Kato designed most of our current studio classes and workshops, building a unique community of artist instructors along the way. Kato also conceived Skeletonfest and Upcycle, our free art-making events for families, and helped develop our art tours for K-12 students. The vibrancy of so many of our programs is due to Kato’s extraordinary commitment and generosity and unwavering dedication to ensuring art remains accessible, affordable and fun.
Susan Pulliam
Education Department, Studio Monitor
What is your favorite thing about the Richmond Art Center?
“The amazing weaving studio. I don’t think there is another resource like it in the Bay Area!”
Susan Pulliam, who volunteers as a studio monitor in the ceramics studio, is a weaver at heart. She fell into volunteering “for selfish reasons,” as she puts it — as a way to access studio hours in the Richmond Art Center’s exceptional weaving studio. But since she also shares a passion for ceramics, she soon found herself loading kilns and learning to mix glazes with Shenny Cruces (the Art Center’s former Ceramics Manager) and works in clay herself.
Having trouble finding the perfect holiday gifts for your friends and loved ones? Look no further! The Richmond Art Center has three easy ways for you to give the gift of creativity!
Gift Certificates
Gift certificates to the Richmond Art Center are an ideal present and are good towards classes, workshops and memberships. Help your friends become makers and artists by giving the gift of art. Purchase a Gift Certificate online today or by phone at 510.620.6772.
Gift Memberships
A wonderful way to give the gift with benefits that keep giving all year long! Your gift recipient will receive a notification with their membership that the gift is from you. When you give at the patron membership level or above, your friend will enjoy free admission to 700 museums nationwide! Neato! Purchase a Gift Membership online today or by phone at 510.620.6772.
Exhibition Catalog
Our Closely Considered – Diebenkorn in Berkeley exhibition catalog is a wonderful addition to any art appreciators library. This four-color catalog beautifully documents our exhibition of works by world-renowned artist Richard Diebenkorn and artists of the Bay Area Figurative movement. Give the gift of art by purchasing this $25 catalog for your friends and loved ones. Order your copies today by stopping by our front desk or calling us at 510.620.6772.
We hope you will support the Richmond Art Center during Giving Tuesday on December 2. This one-day national fundraising event aims to inspire people, like you, to donate to the nonprofits you love.
