Arts & Education Project of Memphis*
To work in partnership with school, community and other social and fraternal organizations to create more knowledgeable, capable and expressive students and engaged adults, who are challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of visual, vocal, aural and physical arts.
The arts are organized expressions of ideas, feelings and experiences in images, in music, in language, in gesture and in movement. They provide for sensory, emotional, intellectual and creative enrichment and contribute to an individual’s holistic development. Much of what is finest in society is developed through a variety of art forms which contribute to cultural principles, beliefs, attitudes and spirit, and to a sense of well-being.
Arts education enables one to explore conventional and alternative ways of communicating with others. It encourages ideas that are personal and inventive, and makes a vital contribution to the development of a range of intelligences. A purposeful arts education at the primary and secondary levels is life-enhancing and is invaluable in stimulating creative thinking and in promoting capability and adaptability. It emphasizes the creative process and so ensures that the work is personal and has quality. Attempts at artistic expression are valued and self-esteem enhanced; where spontaneity and risk-taking are encouraged, and difference is celebrated. It is this affirming aspect of the creative arts that makes participation such a positive experience. Arts education is integral to primary and secondary education in helping to promote thinking, imagination and sensitivity, and arts activities can be a focus for social and cultural development and enjoyment in school.
Arts education encompasses a range of activities in the visual arts, in music, in drama, in dance and in literature. These activities and experiences help the individual make sense of the world; to question to speculate and to find solutions; to deal with feelings and to respond to creative experience.
The goals of arts education are:
To foster a critical appreciation of the arts for personal fulfillment and enjoyment.
To provide for experiences and to develop awareness in the visual arts, in music, in drama, in dance, and in literature.
To enable the person to explore, clarify and express ideas, feelings and experiences through a range of arts activities.
To develop the learner’s awareness of, sensitivity to and enjoyment of visual, aural, tactile and spatial qualities in the environment
To enable one to develop natural abilities and potential, to acquire techniques, and to practice the skills necessary for creative expression and for joyful participation in different arts forms.
To enable oneself to see and to solve problems creatively through imaginative thinking and so encourage individuality and enterprise.
To value the person’s confidence and self-esteem through valuing self- expression.
To foster a sense of excellence in and appreciation of the arts in local, regional, national and global contexts, both past and present.