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The 2022 State of the Arts in Education symposium, hosted by Arts Connect Houston, celebrates the impact of arts education on the student experience. Leaders in the field will share arts education trends in Houston, progress toward equity, and the impact of a robust arts education.
Get Involved
Throughout the State of the Arts in Education symposium, you heard about the current state of arts education in Houston and beyond, key challenges to equitable arts education access for Houston ISD students, and initial ideas on how to collectively work towards a better tomorrow. We identified three key ways to engage: time, talent, and treasure. Read more below.
Time
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If you have time to give, we encourage you to continue educating yourself and learning more so you can further support our students
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Take a short post-event survey and share your perspective with us
Talent
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Be an advocate for arts education with your friends, family, co-workers and community. We need active voices in our community sharing what we learned today!
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Sign up to participate in Arts Connect Working Groups; email Eepi for more
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Serve as on the Arts Action Fund Review Committee; email Taylor for more
Federal Funding for Arts Education in HISD
This year, Houston ISD received $1.16 billion in ESSER II and ESSER III funding and dedicated $22 million for their fine arts department. As part of this ESSER funding, Arts Connect Houston received an initial $735,000 investment through the Fine Arts Department for the first of three years of designated funding. This funding will support our existing efforts, including the Arts Action Fund which provides grants to arts and culture organizations to conduct in-school arts programming and the Creative Schools Institute, which supports school leaders and teachers to achieve campus goals through and with the arts. This funding will also help launch the new RISE Transformation Schools Initiative, designed to bring robust arts education to HISD schools that are the least resourced.
We are very excited to share an article we wrote for the Arts Education Partnership (AEP) highlighting the steps it took to get here, how this funding will directly impact students, and how significant of an investment this funding is for Houston ISD fine arts. Our story highlights the relationships Arts Connect Houston has developed over the years, from our Arts & Culture Partners to Houston ISD to community members and beyond, and serves as an example of the change that can happen when we work collectively!
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Through the Lens of Young Artists
Through the Lens of Young Artists, an exhibition of student-created artworks, highlights the unique creativity that exists in every child. Through the arts and access to arts education, students are given space to explore their individuality and innate aptitude for expression. This exhibition is the result of an open call to Fine Arts Teachers across HISD by Arts Connect Houston in collaboration with the HISD Fine Arts Department Visual Arts Curriculum Specialists, Chandel Bonner-Hancock and Rickey Polidore.
The artworks on display come from students at multiple campuses across the district and were created with only two restrictions in mind: the works must be 2D and created on 6x6 substrates.
Arts in Action
Take a look at some of the amazing programs the Arts Action Fund supported across Houston ISD. The Arts Action fund invests $250,000 annually for in-school arts education programs, supporting students today to make a difference in their lives tomorrow.
Thank You to Our 2022 Event Sponsors
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