Years of study have shown that students of the arts continue to out perform their non-arts peers on Scholastic Assessment Tests. Years of experience have shown that arts education is an integral, essential part of the academic curriculum; that students involved in the arts as lifelong learners are creative and critical thinkers, successful problem-solvers and citizens who appreciate cultural diversity and aesthetics. We know that when archaeologists study past civilizations, or our own civilization in the future, they will study the creative artifacts of our lives: crafts, paintings, music and the arts.
We are just now beginning to understand that the arts are a vital and significant source of inspiration toward “wellness” –that universal desire toward progress and toward improving our states of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. That is exactly what we mean when we say we wish to educate the whole child.
The Arts Council has enjoyed a 36 year partnership with the School District of Hillsborough County and our driving force has been to infuse and integrate the arts into every student’s day…helping them to always work toward being “a part of life rather than absent from it”.
During the 2010-2011 school year, 110,000 students and teachers participated in 1,024 arts experiences
presented by 130 performing companies and artists at 172 K-12 regular and exceptional, magnet, alternative, charter schools, and in other educational settings.
Through the Performing Arts Field Trip program in 2010-2011, a total of 49 field trips, comprising 80 different performances, were presented by 25 companies at venues throughout the Bay area, including the Tampa Theatre, the Straz Performing Arts Center, Ruth Eckerd Hall, and Center Place in Brandon for 34,691 students, teachers and parents.
Students and teachers attend the following museums and galleries, which provide both visual arts offerings and educational opportunities: Tampa Museum of Art, Henry B. Plant Museum, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Ybor City Museum State Park, Tampa Bay History Center, Glazer Children's Museum, The Victory Ship, Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI), Tampa Theatre Tours, Susan Gott Glassmaking Studio, St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, Florida Holocaust Museum, Salvador Dali Museum, St. Petersburg Museum of History, Great Explorations Children's Museum, Dale Chihuly Exhibit, and Morean Arts Center.
The Arts Council manages the above programs and also maintains the Arts Media Resource Center, which contains videos, multicultural CDs, books, Artboxes and Musicboxes (traveling suitcases that contain art objects, instruments, CDs and tapes, curriculum integration materials and lesson plans), and Artpaks (slides and related art activities).
Other Projects
Arts in Education
Can you imagine what this world would be like without the arts?
It truly would be a colorless and silent world without the spark of imagination that dreams, creates, builds, solves, and looks with new eyes. It's because of our commitment to igniting and nurturing that spark in all students that the Arts Council of Hillsborough County and the School District of Hillsborough County have been collaborating on arts in education (AIE) programming since 1976.
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Arts for Elders
The Arts Council of Hillsborough County has a long-standing commitment to provide dynamic arts in education initiatives for Hillsborough County residents of all ages. We believe that there are positive physical and emotional effects of life-long learning. The goal of our Arts for Elders program is to design and implement artistic residencies and performances for both frail and active elderly populations in aging services venues throughout the county. Such arts programs have proven to be an extraordinary link to maintaining the vitality and energy essential to successful aging.
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Special Projects
The Arts Council of Hillsborough County is very involved in creating and implementing unique projects and events that bring diverse members of the community together to learn and to celebrate. These county-wide projects change on a yearly basis, so watch here for the newest initiative or event.
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Community Programs
The Arts Council is pleased to support important community arts programs. Check out this web site for more information:
Community Stepping Stones | For more information, please visit the Arts in Education website.
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