A lack of arts funding in the public school system means that teachers often have to forgo arts education, including not being able to take advantage of local artists and all that they can teach. PVF’s Visiting Artist in the Classroom Program addresses this by providing grants for teachers to tap into the artistic expertise of community members to pass their skills on to youth.

Some teachers request Visiting Artist grants to teach students about art history, a subject they may otherwise not be exposed to. For example, one teacher at Edna Brewer Middle School received a Visiting Artist Grant to bring in professional art historian Warith Taha as part of their Art History Program. Through this program, students received weekly art history lessons to learn about art movements, artists, periods, forms and styles. For one project, students learned the magic and history of moving ink across a plastic surface to create abstract art.

Sometimes, these grants use art as an avenue to teach students about important themes. For example, a Visiting Artist grant was provided so that New Highland Academy and RISE Community School could collaborate on a school mural focused on the theme of resiliency. Working with local professional artist, Fernando Hernandez, students gained technical experience, helped beautify their school, and collaborated with their peers. Their teachers reported back to us: “This grant enabled us to build community like never before! The lives of my young students have been enriched in ways that we never thought possible.”