ARTS EDUCATION CURRICULUM

ARTS EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Influence and Inspiration: Iowa’s Cultural and Artistic Legacy Evolves
Iowa

The Iowa Arts Council has developed a K-12 curriculum with the theme Influence and Inspiration: Iowa’s Cultural and Artistic Legacy Evolves. The curriculum is based on a two-part television show produced in 2007 by the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Public Television through an American Masterpieces grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The program showcased 7 living Iowa master artists and their work. In 2008, with continued NEA American Masterpieces support, the program expanded to include 5 Iowa folk artists and a K-12 curriculum for all 12 artists. The curriculum centers on the 12 artists, lets the students consider themselves artists and includes lesson plans, biographies, images of work and a synopsis of all artist videos available to teachers through the Iowa Arts Council Web site. The students begin with a lesson considering the concepts of influence and inspiration that invites them to examine what inspires and influences each featured artist and also what inspires them as a student, person and artist. The Iowa Arts Council has currently distributed 125 of the curricula to schools across the state and has made all of the resources and videos available on their Web site. For additional information, contact Sarah Ekstrand of the Iowa Arts Council.