Art In Schools

The arts, both visual and performing, are unquestionably crucial to today’s education according to educators. They are subjects unto themselves, and also are vital teaching tools in virtually every subject in the classroom. Since 2001 the Two Waters Arts Alliance has supported Key Peninsula schools in keeping a vibrant arts program working for all students because of sharply constrained education budgets.

Two Waters Artists In Schools is a twofold program. Classroom teachers call upon artists in the “Residency” program to flesh out specific topics within the classroom environment: a musician brings songs of the time to life in a history lesson, or a visual artist expands the world of a plant in science. The artist functions as a resource, much like a film strip or textbook, under a teacher’s direction illustrating how art and core studies interrelate. For students wishing to explore specific artistic activities, Artists in Schools supports the increasingly popular Key Peninsula Middle School “After School Arts” program. Professional artists, most from the Key Peninsula, guide students through a particular art project in a focused after school program. Topics may range from painting to mask making and creative writing.

Throughout COVID, Two Waters Arts Alliance has worked to ensure that local students have access to the arts, through its Art Bags program as well as online Zoom art classes through the middle school.  In all its school support programs Two Waters hews to its founding principles: it supplies the artists and all supplies so that every Key Peninsula student may participate and learn. The programs are funded through membership in the Two Waters Arts Alliance, from private donations and through grants.