MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Children and the Arts
- Overview
MINDS WIDE OPEN Official Website: www.ArtsVA.org
Introduction
This statewide celebration is a collaboration of hundreds of artists and arts and cultural organizations across the Commonwealth. The goals of the collaboration are:
- to build greater public visibility for the role of arts and culture in the Commonwealth
- to provide thousands of opportunities for Virginia families to see high quality works of art by, for, or about children
- to showcase the role of Virginia arts and cultural organizations in encouraging learning by school children
- to shine a spotlight on encouraging creativity in children, both for self expression and to develop skills for the workforce of tomorrow.
Every artist, arts organization, history museum, and library in Virginia will be invited to present at least one program on the theme of Children and the Arts in the time period of March 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012. These programs will be jointly marketed as MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Children and the Arts.
History
The idea for what is now known as MINDS WIDE OPEN came from a meeting of the 21 largest arts organizations in the state in May of 2007. The individuals attending this meeting saw a need for a high visibility project to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of the arts and cultural community in Virginia and to build more collaborations among the cultural organizations. They looked at the model used by many communities of coordinated gallery openings, often operating under the name of First Fridays, and saw great value in the coordinated marketing.
The theme of Women in the Arts was considered to be inclusive and far-reaching, thus enabling every cultural organization in Virginia to participate in the first statewide collaboration. A long lead time was given so that organizations could present their Women in the Arts programs as part of their regular seasons, thereby incurring no additional programming or local marketing costs. At the time participants in the meeting said that if the Women in the Arts celebration was a success, there would be a similar collaboration every two or three years, each on a different theme. Women in the Arts was a great success, and Children and the Arts will be the second statewide collaboration.
Women in the Arts Celebration
The concept of the Women in the Arts celebration captured the attention of the cultural community throughout the state in the spring of 2010. The results were:
- 10,123 Individual performances or exhibitions
- 696 Separate events produced as part of the celebration
- 402 Different program locations
- 324 Participating cultural organizations
The statewide marketing resulted in significant coverage in every daily newspaper of the state plus the Washington Post, a magazine insert that ran in five locations, internet banner ads, billboards across the state, and public radio spots in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland. The marketing campaign had 57 million impressions through print and broadcast media.
A survey of the participants showed that 70% of the respondents had collaborated with another organization during the statewide celebration, and 100% found the experience to be rewarding and worthwhile.
Partners
- The 21 major arts organizations of the Commonwealth of Virginia who first conceived the MINDS WIDE OPEN idea and who committed time, money, and staff resources to ensure its success.
- Virginians for the Arts Foundation, the statewide citizens organization that advocates for increased public funding of the arts by state and Federal government, is serving as fiscal agent for both the Women in the Arts and the Children and the Arts celebrations.
- The Virginia Commission for the Arts is the state government agency that promotes greater public participation in the arts by awarding grants to a wide range of arts organizations, artists, and schools. The Commission has contributed funding and staff time to MINDS WIDE OPEN.
- Four hundred or more participating cultural organizations, located in every corner of the Commonwealth
Structure
When the major arts organizations began planning the first MINDS WIDE OPEN celebration, they were adamant that the project should not leadto a new bureaucracy in the arts. MINDS WIDE OPEN is not an incorporated entity. There is a planning team that is responsible for fundraising and interaction with the marketing firm. This planning team is composed of:
The Virginians for the Arts Foundation, headquartered in Richmond, serves as fiscal agent for MINDS WIDE OPEN.
First Ladies
All of the living First Ladies of Virginia were Honorary Chairs for the statewide celebration of women and the arts, and they have all agreed to be Honorary Chairs for the celebration of children and the arts. They are:
- Katherine Godwin
- Virginia (Jinks) Holton
- Eddy Dalton Phillips
- Lynda Johnson Robb
- Jeannie Baliles
- Susan Allen
- Roxane Gilmore
- Lisa Colllis
- Anne Holton
- Maureen McDonnell
Children and the Arts
MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Children and the Arts will include plays, dances, musical programs, exhibitions, films, and literature either created by children, featuring children, about children, or directed to children as the audience.
Study of the arts should be a part of any well-rounded education. However, there is wide disparity among Virginia school divisions in the extent and depth of their arts education. The impact of state and local government funding cuts is being felt by school divisions everywhere. Although there is not solid statistical information on the impact of the spending cuts on arts education, there is compelling anecdotal evidence that many school divisions are cutting back significantly on instruction in the arts.
Study of the arts provides opportunities for creative expression and for learning about many cultures.
Study of the arts can inspire a love of learning, which leads in turn to improved overall academic performance.
Numerous studies have also demonstrated other positive outcomes from study of the arts. A Stanford University study demonstrated that education in the arts help to prepare students for the 21st century workforce by developing better perception of relationships, skills in finding multiple solutions to problems, attention to nuance, adaptability, decision-making skills, and visualization of goals and outcomes.
A report from the National Governors Association states that children who study the arts are:
- four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
- elected to class office within their schools three times as often
- four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
- three times more likely to win an award for school attendance.
This same report states that the benefits of a solid arts education are even more dramatic for at-risk children.
In addition to supporting general academic learning and workforce readiness, study of the arts can lead to careers in television and film production, website design, architecture, fashion, software game development, or advertising.
Looking Ahead to 2012
The statewide celebration of Children and the Arts welcomes participation by any artist, arts organization, history museum, library, or school in Virginia. Participants plan their own programs - which can be by, for, or about children – and post the information on the MINDS WIDE OPEN website. There is no screening or review process. Participants are responsible for the costs of the programs and local marketing. The MINDS WIDE OPEN planning team is raising private funding to pay for the statewide marketing costs.
Online Registration Form, here. (Google Doc)
More Information
Katie Shubert
Statewide Coordinator
MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Children and the Arts
ArtsVA2012@gmail.com
757-627-9545 ext. 3323 (phone)
757-622-0058 (fax)
MINDS WIDE OPEN Official Website: www.ArtsVA.org
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