WashArts receives $200K grant
WashArts is working on a plan to send professional artists into rural schools.
The community arts center based in Washington just received a $200,000 grant that will help coordinate a program designed to recruit “teaching artists” and organize a variety of activities at several rural school districts around the area.
The program, which is administered by WashArts and will also include Monon Center in Greensboro and Fayette County Cultural Trust in Connellsville, is expected to build a roster of local artists who can share their knowledge with students in their communities.
“There are some really great artists in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, and we hope to garner their interests and the resources we have to build our own little tribe,” WashArts Director Becky Keck said. “This is great news for artists in this area looking to get involved.”
She said the Benedum Foundation’s grant is targeting the tri-county area because it is more difficult to recruit artists in rural settings than in school districts around Pittsburgh, where there is a large pool of artists. She pointed to her own experience as a potter in Greene County, where she knows many other artists, but it wasn’t until she became director at WashArts that she began meeting people in her field living in Washington County.
“We’re hoping to eliminate that disconnect and bring everyone together,” Keck said.
That’s exactly what Benedum Foundation Vice President Jim Denova hopes to achieve with the program. He said geography often impedes professional artists from helping with activities in rural areas, but their knowledge and experiences are still important and must be harnessed.
“That’s part of that local attachment,” Denova said. “Those are things we’re trying to achieve, to look at that proximity and not always look toward Pittsburgh. There’s an awful lot of talent out there and it just takes some prospecting and match-making.”
A dozen “teaching artists” with a variety of skills are being targeted to engage several schools in the three counties. Locally, Denova said they hope to work with McGuffey, Fort Cherry, Jefferson-Morgan, West Greene and Central Greene, although that list could be expanded.
Keck said initiative will help with programs inside the classroom, along with after-school activities. She added the program is designed to enhance, not replace, the classroom curriculum.
The grant money will be used to organize the groups, train the artists, offer stipends and market the concept to the community. The program began this month and is scheduled to continue until mid-2016, although Keck hopes it will last long after that.
Local artists who want to participate in the program can contact Wash Arts by phone at 724-222-1474 or through email at WashArts@WashArts.org.