Erin Patrice Bennett’s Post

Not all aspiring performing arts majors are going to get the offer they want. Some may not get one at all. While navigating this season of waiting, remind the teens you know who have made it past the academic admissions hurdle and are now waiting after a busy season on auditioning if an artistic admission will be forthcoming as well to tend to their well being and what they can control This includes: Self-care – Remind teens to prioritize their well-being. This may include participating in activities that are a welcome distraction from things, seeking support from friends and family, and if they are feeling emotionally stuck in a negative place, consider consulting a therapist. Self-care is a cornerstone to resilience and recovery.    Focus on Identity – When we are caught up in an outcome, we can sometimes lose perspective and see the outcome as defining our identity. Remind teens that their identity as an individual and as a performer extends well beyond the college admissions process. Their worth and future success are not limited in any way by the outcome of the process, just as their success would not be guaranteed by admittance. As the line from The Lion King says, “Remember who you are.” Including reminding them how brave they have been to come this far. Networking and Community: Encourage teens to build relationships and connections both inside and outside of the performing arts community. A broad network can lead to a broad array of insights and opportunities as well as support. For teens who's paths lead them to take a gap year or another route that does not involve immediate matriculation into school, this can be especially helpful in managing the transition when many of their peers leave the area. #performingarts #parenting #collegeadmissions

The graduation rate for Georgia students involved in Fine Arts Career Pathways has risen to 97.35%. This rate – which applies to students who complete a Fine Arts Career Pathway – exceeds the overall state graduation rate by 12.95 percentage points, underscoring the relevance and effectiveness of Fine Arts Career Opportunities. The creative industries in Georgia represent a combined $37 billion in revenue and $62.5 billion in total economic impact. Completing a Fine Arts pathway indicates that a student is prepared to join the ranks of more than 200,000 working visual artists, actors, dancers, and musicians earning over $12.1 billion in wages in Georgia!

Experiences are like seeds; they may start small, but they can grow, reaching places we never imagined. I have been thinking about the impact Pinc College has on students. I know that I can see young people “coming out of their shells” feeling and being treated like people for the first time in a long time. I can see the direct impact at the time they are studying at Pinc College. I know this experience is bound to have positive life-changing effects. I recently found a picture of me after helping GrayWorld install their Invisible artwork throughout Burnley (Invisible UV-reactive artwork that only showed under certain lighting conditions). For me this experience was incredible! Working with artists doing strange and unusual things. Things that I didn’t know were an option at the time. It allowed me the opportunity to re-assess possibilities and made things like UIYO City (A massively multi-participatory artwork) to exist. Pinc College has already had a huge impact on young people's lives. I am sure it will be the catalyst for a great many amazing things to exist. It feels really good to be a part of a team doing this. #experience #impact #possibilities #GreayWorld #Burnley

Did you catch the new ground-breaking report about arts education from Royal Shakespeare Company? ---------------------- It found that children's academic, social and emotional development was significantly impacted by exposure to the Arts; the difference in children who were enabled to take part in arts learning vs children who didn't have access was astounding. RSC Director of Creative Learning, Jacqui O’Hanlon, made it clear. "Arts education plays a significant role in improving the life-chances of young people." She also mentioned the importance of equal access. "We know that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. We want all young people to be resilient and feel confident in their ability to overcome challenges and solve problems." ---------------------- This is why we do what we do at ERIC. We need to make sure there is enough creative education out there for everyone and we need to also make sure everyone knows where to find it. Read the full report via the link in the comments below 👇

Toronto’s Kingsway College School (KCS) is beloved, was in the process of expanding, and needed a visual language with more energy to match their uplifting values. First things first, adapt the more conservative, heraldic look of Kingsway College School to a design based on iconography, a trend that many private schools were leaning into. We took their four doors of learning and converted them to pictographs. We used the same approach for their school rules. Since this style of pre-written language is more powerful than words, we immediately created something powerful and aspirational we could build upon in other branded components. #artscience #clientlove #kcsmatters #education #branding Read Case Study: https://lnkd.in/gH2vTKcZ

How can we properly design for identity when there are so few represented in the industry? #designforidentity

It is often said that children are our future. If that is truly the case, then we should be investing in their creative development at an early age. Teaching art in primary school is not only important for developing artistic talent, but also for helping children to learn problem-solving skills, think creatively and work collaboratively. There are so many dimensions to the importance of art and the importance of teaching art in primary schools, so we have outlined a few of the key reasons why teaching visual art in primary school is so crucial to students’ success. Read more on 'The Importance of Teaching Art in Primary School' on the Creative Kids Art Lessons blog... https://lnkd.in/gimdEKTr

Umbrella thanks ArtsHub and writer Rochelle Siemienowicz for highlighting the impact of the planned closure of Creative Arts at James Cook University. Director Kate O'Hara contributed a response on behalf of Umbrella, which we are pleased to share below. Umbrella continues to advocate for our growing arts ecology in North Queensland and for a shared investment by all stakeholders to take up the extraordinary opportunities in play. "It is with distress that we have learned of the planned redundancies at JCU which will see the closure of the College of Arts. We note that resources and programs associated with the college have been reduced consistently over the last decade, against the advice and extraordinary efforts of the arts community who have been and will continue to be directly impacted, not to mention future generations of creatives and art academics of the north. This closure is incongruent with the recent growth of our sector in the north: Arts Queensland's localised investment in regional North Queensland is sizable, major arts infrastructure projects are in progress, and the opportunities for careers in the arts in northern Queensland continue to grow at a rapid rate. At a federal level, we have a new National Cultural Policy that identifies ‘a place for every story and story for every place’ and commits to providing greater investment in regional arts. Umbrella has significantly increased our operational size and program to meet the growing market demand over the last five years. A significant driver of our success at Umbrella has been the cohort of JCU Creative Arts graduates residing in North Queensland. Their work as practitioners has contributed to the wealth of Umbrella and other arts organisations' work and outcomes to date. Historically this has realised JCU's quest to be a civic university serving the needs of the community, especially the arts. Once the talent goes south, for education, it is unlikely to return. This is already in effect. The problem we face right now is the lack of a new generation of trained emerging artworkers and academics (and artists) in the region. We have jobs, however no local pipeline to provide new talent, to fill the new roles we have on offer. JCU putting their hands in the air crying a 'lack of demand' simply isn't acceptable. JCU should be working with the sectorial stakeholders to make the programs accessible, affordable and relevant to the contemporary context. Place-based knowledges of the north need to be nurtured by JCU. What a terrible loss this will be to our local, national and global dialogues. We expect more from JCU as thought leaders and a civic university which prides itself on excellence. We invite a willingness from JCU to work strategically and invest alongside the sector in the future of arts education and the creative industries in North Queensland."

Title: Navigating the Challenges of a Fine Arts Degree Embarking on a Fine Arts degree journey presents a myriad of challenges, each intricately woven into the fabric of artistic exploration. Here's a breakdown of the complexities that students may encounter along the way: 1. Technical Mastery: Fine Arts programs demand a deep dive into mastering diverse artistic techniques and mediums, requiring relentless practice and experimentation to achieve proficiency. 2. Conceptual Ingenuity: Beyond technical prowess, students grapple with developing conceptual depth, navigating the delicate balance between personal expression and thematic coherence in their work. 3. Critical Discernment: Immersed in the rich tapestry of art history and theory, students engage in rigorous critical analysis, honing their ability to dissect and evaluate artwork within cultural and aesthetic contexts. 4. Time Allocation: Balancing the demands of intensive studio work, research endeavors, and coursework necessitates adept time management skills to navigate deadlines and competing priorities. 5. Feedback Dynamics: Participating in critiques fosters growth but also challenges students to embrace vulnerability, as they confront constructive criticism and offer insightful evaluations of their peers' work. 6. Self-Discipline: Thriving in a Fine Arts program requires unwavering self-motivation and discipline, as students navigate the labyrinth of creative exploration and professional development. 7. Artistic Navigation: Beyond academia, students must navigate the multifaceted landscape of the art world, cultivating resilience and forging pathways to showcase their work, network effectively, and pursue career opportunities. Despite the formidable obstacles encountered, the pursuit of a Fine Arts degree is a transformative journey that imbues students with resilience, creativity, and a profound understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Many contemporary spaces are uniformly lit to satisfy requirements for generic repetitive tasks, but lighting and thermal needs for people vary depending on what we're doing. Depending on climate, season, time, personal preference and activity, people have different needs to be comfortable. This graphic imagines what daily tasks might be if they were organized based on the time of day and availability of daylight. This is not to prescriptively define what people should do at specific times like we may have been forced to do in the past before the invention of electric light, but to show that flexible spaces with varying light levels can be better for people. They might encourage movement, variety, and play. This initial study would not have been possible without love and support of friends, family, and teachers.