Creativity drives modern businesses and education systems by inspiring ideas and innovation, engaging employees and students alike. Creativity and collaboration skills are essential in every industry from finance to wedding planning to landscaping to entrepreneurship. The poor economic climate has caused many schools to cut noncore courses, including classes in the arts. The budget crisis that has struck schools is a global problem, but educators are creative. These highlighted programs show how schools collaborate with artists and cultural organizations to preserve arts instruction and spark students' interest and creativity.
In Windsor, Canada, children were treated to the first annual Children's Festival of Arts. The festival offered ideas for educators to get young students excited about learning different subjects through hands-on creative activities. The children watched Hindu dancers and learned facts about India. They made "flubber," a gooey concoction made from food coloring, borax, glue, and water, which could easily be carried over into a science class. They also participated in various painting projects. By using these different avenues to get kids involved in the arts, the festival was able to educate them and engage them by making it fun in the process.
Earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, the Guggenheim Museum held a forum for educators on the importance of art education. Presenters and educators discussed their various experiences in the classroom and held workshops to give educators ideas for teaching the arts in schools and universities. The forum was also held to show some more conservative schools, where the arts are not a priority, why art education is important for students.
At the Very Special Arts program in Cairo, American artists worked with students and teachers at a three-week summer camp that focused on developing student skills through art education. Many of the participating students had special needs and got to see several disabled artists show how they overcame their disabilities through the arts. The artists there demonstrated everything from painting to creative writing to inspire the students to create their own works.
Despite the budgetary and cultural hurdles that some countries are facing, many schools, programs, and educators have found ways to get students excited through and about arts by collaborating with outside programs. By allowing students to learn this way, these educators are opening up a whole new world of learning opportunities that many students seem to embrace as an outlet for their creative process.
