News From Argy at the Maine Arts Commission
IDITAROD 2017 The Maine Arts Commission is traveling 1254 miles this winter to visit communities across the state sharing information and collecting ideas. The Arts Iditarod 2017 is traveling 54 miles more than the annual dogsled race that takes place each March in Alaska. The Iditarod race was started to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan huskies, which were being phased out of existence due to the introduction of snowmobiles in Alaska; and to preserve the historical Iditarod Trail between Seward and Nome. We’ re not traveling by dogsleds but we are focusing on our culture and the arts in Maine. Not to mention we’ re having enjoying our conversations with artists, educators, and community leaders. I am impressed by the support and enthusiasm for arts education and the thoughtfulness about the arts in Maine.
As we implement our five year Cultural Plan, we ' ve got a lot to talk about, and even more to hear from the Maine community. The Iditarod includes conversations and information sharing on the following topics: Grants; Using Data to Tell Your Story; the National Endowment for the Arts ' Creativity Connects initiative; the Arts Education Census results and actions; Building Cultural Equity in Maine, and-- whatever else people wish to bring to the table. These community forums are free and open to the public, and as I write this we are halfway through our tour.
MAINE ARTS EDUCATION CENSUS Arts education is one of five priorities for the Maine Arts Commission: Build on and further strengthen PK-12 arts education and lifelong learning programs. The statewide census conducted during the last school year was in response to the cultural plan. Ion the Iditarod 2017 I’ m sharing the findings from the arts education census and how we can use the data to help support and grow arts education programs. The report will be published in the near future on the Maine Arts Commission