To meet the need for summer and arts programming for students during the COVID-19 pandemic, OETA Art Club was developed in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma Arts Council. The program combines clips from OETA's award-winning arts series, Gallery America, with discussion guides and activities to help students between the ages of 10-18 find and amplify their voices utilizing an artistic thinking framework.
Additionally, Art Club provides students the opportunity to make use of their creativity as a means of self-expression, which can be used as an outlet for their feelings in a safe space that allows them to explore their artistic side, as well as learn about how art can be used as a tool for social change.
The curriculum, developed by the Education department at OETA, was recently added to an exclusive national database in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. PBS stations across the nation will now be able to replicate the Art Club program and curriculum in their own communities. This means that more students will have access to this one-of-a-kind program that allows them to express themselves creatively, while learning how to think critically about issues facing them today.
During the pandemic, social issues came to the surface for students and young adults across our nation. Many of those students simply were not equipped with the necessary skillsets needed to express their voices. Art Club has been a bridge for those participants and has demonstrated how to successfully find their unique voice and has provided creative ways to amplify it. Participants now see that, even though they may be young, their voices have weight and value in society and art is a means for them to present those ideas to others in a new and effective way.
"Art Club help students develop critical lifelong artistic thinking skills through the utilization of creative solutions while also increasing their appreciation for various forms of visual expression and giving them the confidence to know that their voices are heard and hold value.” Says Curtis Calvin, Vice President of Education at OETA.
“To date, OETA's Art Club has had more than 500 students involved with the program in Oklahoma. With the expansion of the curriculum to a nationwide educational audience, our goal is to see students from diverse backgrounds begin to see the world with a fresh set of eyes and find the art and creativity in everything that they do.”