Smarts Awarded $10K for Artist in Residence Program

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Students Motivated by the Arts has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support an artist in residence at four elementary schools.

The Arts Engagement in American Communities grant will fund the position at Jefferson, Lincoln, McGuffey and Willard PK-8 schools in Warren. Smarts is matching the grant with an additional $10,000 in administration and project oversight.

The project will be paired with the Any Given Child initiative, a partnership between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Smarts.

“Pairing the expertise of Smarts community teaching artists with the Warren City School teachers, administrators and staff builds a dynamic team to bring arts integration to life for our students. We have been training and preparing for this since 2017 and are looking forward to seeing the positive results in the classrooms,” said Smarts education director Caroline Lorimer in a statement. “Any Given Child, Warren brings access to arts opportunities and ideas to students and teachers in the city of Warren, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”

Artists in residence will place Smarts teachers in four classrooms for eight-day periods. The work done will connect areas like history or science with art. As an example, Lorimer pointed to a hypothetical sixth grade classroom where a musician works with the class to compose music explaining scientific concepts.

“All Americans should have access to the arts,” said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “Grants such as this one to Smarts are an important part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ work to ensure people in communities both large and small across the nation have the opportunity to experience the arts.” 

Picture via Students Motivated by the Arts. Credit: Lindsay Cameron Photography.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.