Prairie Visions: Nebraska Consortium for Arts Education and Statewide Arts Connection

Biography

"Conceived in 1987, Prairie Visions has been an ongoing project ever since. For more than fifteen years, Nebraska's statewide Prairie Visions Project has moved forward comprehensive arts education as part of an overall educational reform effort. As a research, demonstration, and development site, it offers particularly useful strategies to both rural and urban school districts. Since 1987, faculty from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) have developed strong curriculum based on a thematic and interdisciplinary approach of theory and practice. Each year offers a different theme and curricular connections. The Getty Foundation served as the major funding partner until 1997, when Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) took over the fiscal and program management responsibilities and TETAC participation. Funding also has been received from the Annenberg Foundation and the Institute for Educational Inquiry. The UNO Center for Innovation in Arts Education arose from the collaboration in 1998, seeking to further connections among art educators, practitioners, arts organizations and institution. In 2003, the Center and NAC linked the Prairie Visions Institute to the state's Distance Learning system to highlight folk, traditional arts, and 'everyday aesthetics'. Based on a 2004 statewide survey and planning conference, Prairie Vision began the process of diversifying its services beyond the centralize institute model. In 2004-05, five mini-institutes across Nebraska served over 120 educators and artists. Complementing the traveling exhibition from Lincoln's Sheldon Art Gallery, the mini-institutes offered an interdisciplinary, thematic curriculum. The 2005 Prairie Visions Leadership academy sought to empower teams of administrators and teachers to make arts education more relevant to the community, and participants learned to develop arts outreach and recognition programs.Now complementing the work of the institute, the Statewide Arts Connection project, run through the Sheldon Art Gallery's Sheldon Statewide program, helps geographically extend the learning to teachers around the rural state. Integrative art training for teachers and an enriched learning experience for students and community members reaches educators throughout Greater Nebraska. Through one-day workshops, Statewide Arts Connection shares a model of thematic curriculum and activities that lead to deeper understanding of ideas and prepares viewers for their visit to the traveling Sheldon Statewide art exhibition in or near their community. In 2005, the UNO Center took over the responsibility for the leadership academy with funding from NAC and the National Endowment for the Arts. Professional development and networking continue to be the focus of the summer institute, which features rich resources and active participation. An active state arts education network, including efforts of Nebraskans for the Arts, helps spread the impact of the work to policy."--Arts For All. "Prairie Visions: Nebraska Consortium for Arts Education and Statewide Arts Connection." Accessed April 1, 2014. http://handbook.laartsed.org/models/index.ashx?md=33

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