State of the Arts Category Archive: Education

Blake School part of national theater project on hate crimes

Posted at 10:14 AM on October 12, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Theater

The famous "Laramie Project" - is getting an update tonight on stages around the world with the simultaneous reading of "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later." The 'epilogue' focuses on the long-term effects of Matthew Shepard's murder has had on the town of Laramie, and includes interviews with both his mother and his killer, who's serving two consecutive life sentences.

In the Twin Cities area you can see the reading of the new work at the Guthrie Theater... or at the Blake School on its Hopkins campus. A cast of 14 Blake students and staff will take the stage to bring the town's story to life. The production is sponsored by The Blake School Gay Straight Alliance and all proceeds will go to the nonprofit Avenues for Homeless Youth.

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McNally Smith offering B-Girl scholarship

Posted at 4:12 PM on September 21, 2009 by Euan Kerr (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Music

The McNally Smith College of Music in St Paul is offering scholarships designed to encourage more women to enroll in its Hip Hop Diploma. The 18 month program which launched this year teaches both the performance side of hip hop and the business and history too.

The scholarships offer $15,000 which is half-tuition for the course. Applications, which will be accepted through December 11th must include an essay and a three and a half minute audio or visual piece.

Selections will be made by a panel with representatives of B-Girl Be, the sponsor of the annual B-Girl summit, (as featured last week on Art Hounds,) Intermedia Arts, which hosts the event, and McNally Smith College of Music.

In a release announcing the new scholarships Toki Wright, who co-ordinates the program, and is one of the performers in the video above, welcomed the news.

"Often in the media, the many rewarding aspects and innovations of women in Hip-Hop are overshadowed by their male counterparts. The 'B-Girl Be Scholarship acknowledges that women's contributions are important and essential to sustaining and expanding Hip-Hop culture. The work of MC Lyte, Tricia Rose, Queen Latifah, and countless industry representatives demonstrate the power, talent and tenacity it takes to make it in the culture and business of Hip-Hop. "

Fourteen students are in the first class in the hip hop diploma, and will graduate in 2011.

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The worth of an arts education

Posted at 12:21 PM on September 14, 2009 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Education, People

This morning on Midmorning I interviewed Jay Coogan, the new president of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. We talked not only about MCAD in particular, but the market in general for an arts degree in today's economy.

People like Richard Florida (author of "The Creative Class") and Daniel Pink ("the MFA is the new MBA") say creativity is essential for successful business. But many students and parents think an arts education is both pricey and dicey when it comes to finding steady work. Jay Coogan believes the most exciting work is being done in areas where arts and business combine to innovate new solutions (health care, for example).

What do you think an arts degree is worth today? Is it a smart investment? Or a losing proposition?

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Should music be a required subject in schools?

Posted at 1:07 PM on June 19, 2009 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Music

Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch (a.k.a. Florence Henderson) and NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar teamed up yesterday to petition the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan . Their goal is to make music education- or at least the arts - a core subject in a student's education.

Currently, Minnesota standards require just one credit of arts education for a student to graduate from high school. That's compared to four credits of language arts, three and a half credits in social studies, and three credits each in math and science. That art class could come in the form of music, dance, theater, or media arts. In addition students are required to take at least seven electives.

What do you think? What would be the benefit of taking music, or any art class, every year of your education? Would it come at the cost of electives? Or some other core class? Students who have a natural affinity for the arts have the choice of taking those classes as electives, so why force students who aren't naturally interested? What's the benefit?

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What's the future of the arts?

Posted at 9:46 AM on June 16, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education

20under40 is a project to collect unique perspectives on the future of the arts and arts education. If you're involved in the arts in any way, are under 40 years old, and have an opinion to share, they'd like to hear from you.

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What does your kid know about art?

Posted at 3:45 PM on June 15, 2009 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education

A new report suggests that arts and music education in 8th grade classrooms has not imroved over the last decade, and that the kids in those classrooms leave with a mediocre knowledge of the arts.

The most startling findings? The number of students reporting they went on an art-related field trip in the last year dropped six percent six percentage points, to just 16 percent. And just half of students quizzed recognized the solo instrument in "Rhapsody in Blue" as a clarinet. You can read more about the findings of the study here.

So what does your kid know about the arts? Is he or she getting that education in the public school classroom, or elsewhere? When was the last time your kid went on a field trip to a museum, or a theater, or a concert?

MPR Photo/Tom Weber

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