Register Now for Poetry out Loud

It is Poetry Out Loud time again and we are excited again here at the Maine Arts Commission. This education program is one of our favorites, and continues to amaze us more year after year.

We announced a call for registration yesterday and we already have eight schools registered and ready to compete.

If you do not know about Poetry Out Loud then here is the scoop. It is organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. It began in high schools nationwide in 2006, the program encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. Poetry Out Loud helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about their literary heritage. In addition to providing a meaningful arts education experience of poetry in written and spoken form, prizes are awarded to successful students and schools at the state and national level, including a $20,000 scholarship awarded to the National Champion.

The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce that schools can now register quickly and easily online by visiting MaineArts.com.

Please note that Poetry Out Loud can take place in your school anytime between now and January 17, 2014, as the program does not require full class periods and can be completed in just two to three weeks. However, there are many opportunities to make Poetry Out Loud a larger part of your high school’s curriculum in English Language Arts or Visual and Performing Arts, including the program’s alignment with the Common Core English Language Arts Standards in the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading and for Language. . Click for details.

Please review the following timeline as you consider registering your school:

• September – November 2013 School Registration (ongoing)
• November 22, 2013 Last day to register for Poetry Out Loud
• January 17, 2014 Last day for school-wide competitions
• January – February 2014 Poetry Out Loud Regional Workshops
• February 2014 Maine Regional Finals
• March 2014 Maine State Finals
• April 28-30, 2014 POL National Finals

Congressional Art Competition 2013 Call for Art

One of the education programs that the Maine Arts Commission assists with is the Congressional Arts Competition. This aim of this contest is to place student artwork from each Congressional district in the United States in Washington, D.C. Here in Maine we work with Congressman Michael Michaud and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree to find one piece of artwork from their districts to be a part of this show.

The work will go on show in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year, beginning in June 2013. We are looking for examples of high quality two-dimensional art. The program recognizes the importance of student art on a grand scale.

Finalists and runners up, their families and art teachers will be invited to a reception at the Blaine House in Augusta where the selected students will be recognized for their work. The Blaine House event is the annual celebration that highlights the close partnership between the Maine Arts Commission and Maine’s Congressional offices. Both of Maine’s congressional representatives are highly enthusiastic about this program and strongly encourage their constituents to apply.

Full details of this opportunity can be found on our website.

Arts Education Organization Appoints New Executive Director

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) has announced the appointment of Peter Alexander to serve as the organization’s executive director. Alexander, a well-known musician and organizer from Bath, was selected over a large field of candidates to lead the Alliance in the implementation of its new strategic plan, with a focus on advocacy and professional development for arts educators.

Alexander is one of the few people in the United States with a Masters Degree specializing in nonprofit advocacy and organization. He is an accomplished musician and has a long history of leadership in the fields of both the arts and environment. Since 2009 he has served as president of the Maine Songwriters Association ; he is the convener and leader of the Gulf of Maine Restoration Initiative; he served from 2009 - 2011 as president of Opportunity Maine; and he is a founding member and still serves on the board of the America’s Great Waters Coalition.

“I am really honored that the board of MAAE has selected me to lead the organization as we step up our efforts on behalf of arts education for all Maine’s students,” said Alexander. “Policy makers and school administrators too often underplay the importance of arts education, and these programs are usually the first to go when budgets get tight. We’re here to let our leaders know that arts education plays an enormously important role in our state’s economy and way of life and should be expanded, not diminished as we prepare our children for the 21st century skills they will need to lead successful and richly satisfying lives.”

MAAE is planning a reception to officially welcome Alexander on October 21 from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm at Slates Restaurant in Hallowell. Among the activities will be talks by Maine’s arts education leaders and performances by some of Maine’s outstanding music students. Members of the public are invited but, because space is limited, they must reserve a seat by writing to info@maineartsed.org.

Telling Room Announces Season Programming

The Telling Room in Portland, Maine is excited to announce the opening of their 2012-2013 season of programming for young writers age 6-18. Their dynamic field trips and afterschool workshops are designed to engage all students through active writing studio experiences. They've just posted their fall semester of free afterschool workshops and are currently scheduling 2.5 hour literary field trips at their beautiful space on Commercial Street in Portland.

The Telling Room is able to offer substantial discounts on field trips for multiple bookings of three or more from one school as well as for schools with Title I designations. Teachers needing to defray the cost of travel to The Telling Room can access funding through the Maine Arts Commission's Ticket to Ride transportation grant. The Ticket to Ride grant process consists of a one-page application with rapid response and approval by Arts Commission staff.

Digital Storytelling Initiative Starts in Maine

Meridian Stories is a new educational initiative in Maine that blends art and technology with core curricular objectives. The program is based on a series of bi-monthly digital storytelling competitions for Middle and High School students. Each competition challenges students to create short-form stories using images, words, video, audio and music in assignments that relate to science, math, history and language arts.

Meridian Stories was successfully piloted in 15 schools and now is doubling the program capacity to accommodate 30. Schools from Aroostook County to Bangor, Bethel, Freeport and Portland have already signed up. Participation fees range from $75 to $350 depending on involvement. If you are interested in participating in this initiative you can find more at www.meridianstories.com.

Register Now for Poetry Out Loud 2013!

The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce that schools can now register for Poetry Out Loud quickly and easily online. Poetry Out Loud is organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission. This program encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance; it provides a meaningful educational experience of poetry in written and spoken form. Prizes are awarded to successful students and schools at the state and national level, including a $20,000 scholarship awarded to the National Champion.

Last year, over 7,700 students and more than 200 teachers from 45 high schools across Maine participated in Poetry Out Loud. Ten finalists recited poems in a state final competition which was broadcast live on Maine Public Broadcasting Network and introduced the program to a larger audience. If you missed it, you can view the 2012 Maine State Final here. We anticipate that 2013 will be just as exciting, and encourage all teachers to consider giving their students the chance to shine in this nationwide celebration of poetry!

Register Now!

The Maine Arts Commission believes that the arts are an integral part of a well-rounded education. Through our Arts in Education programs we endeavor to create and support innovative arts learning opportunities that engage students and teachers alike in creative thinking, arts participation and the building of vibrant learning communities. You can find more information on the benefits of Poetry Out Loud, and all of the Maine Arts Commission’s educational programming by visiting MaineArts.com.

First Lady Launches Student Art Challenge

Maine’s First Lady has launched a new challenge for Maine’s students in a partnership with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. The challenge, for Maine students in grades K-8, is to submit an original work of art depicting what living in Maine means to them. Artwork may be inspired by a wide range of images from favorite Maine places, outdoor activities, foods and state symbols, as well as families having fun together.

Selected artwork will be featured in the First Lady’s upcoming new family friendly Love.Read.Learn!™ Baby Journal, produced in partnership with the Barbara Bush Foundation. The journal is a scrapbook-style booklet to promote literacy and health to families of newborn babies in Maine. The baby journal will be provided at no cost to parents of newborns in 2012-2013.

All selected artists must be a Maine student (grades K-8) during the 2012-2013 school year, and be a legal resident of Maine at the time of his/her application.

Entries must be postmarked by October 30, 2012; winners are expected to be notified during the week of November 12, 2012. Entries can be sent to the Blaine House – Maine is ME Art Challenge, c/o Paula Benoit, 192 State Street, Augusta, ME 04330.

Students must return the student/parents forms with their artwork. For details of these forms and of this challenge, visit MaineArts.com.

Ticket To Ride Grants for 2012/2013.

 The Maine Arts Commission continues to provide critical funding for schools seeking to transport students to arts venues and events in Maine in support of their education.

The Ticket to Ride grant program provides funding to defray the cost of travel for Maine K-12 schools wishing to attend arts venues and events as a part of a well rounded curriculum. Any K-12 school in Maine will be eligible to apply for one grant of up to $300 each school year. Any K-12 school in Maine with a documented free and reduced lunch student population of 50 percent or greater will be eligible to apply for one grant of up to $500 each school year.

The Ticket to Ride grant program will provide transportation funding on a first-come first-served basis until all available funds have been dispersed. Those wishing to apply for this funding should visit the education section of www.MaineArts.com. 

Poetry Out Loud Re-Broadcast

In case you missed it the first time, MPBN will be rebroadcasting the Maine Poetry Out Loud State Finals Monday, July 23, 10:00 pm and Sunday, July 29, 03:00 pm.

Presented by Maine Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Out Loud encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance. The Maine Poetry Out Loud competition finals were held at Bates College in Lewiston on March 23, 2012. The champion went on to Washington DC to compete in the National Finals.

Thank You Letter

The Maine Arts Commission received this thank you letter this morning:


October 21,2011
Hermon Middle School
29 Billings Road
Hermon, ME 04401

C/O Angela Molino
Ticket to Ride: Maine Arts Commission

Dear Angela,

It is with deep appreciation that I write this letter. Yesterday, I along with our K-8 art instructor, Mrs. Rachel Case, were able to accompany twelve identified gifted and talented visual art students to the University Of Maine Museum Of Art in downtown Bangor. The morning was spent analyzing art in various forms, from poetry to sketch. I was particularly struck by one student, who could not finish the tour because he was so focused on his work. We simply allowed him to remain in his artistic space and collected him at the end of the tour. Many students commented on how they were amazed that a Bangor museum had a Picasso! “How many kids can go home today and say they saw a Picasso?” one student marveled. My reply was, “Twelve!” And that is because of the funding provided through this program. The afternoon was spent learning about various watercolor techniques and talking about art. After lunch we took a short walk to a local artist, Andrea Hand’s studio. She shared with us the joys and challenges of being a full time artist and answered questions from our students. This experience provided students with hands on activities and critical learning that would not have been other wise gained. I can not express in words the powerful experience we had, but instead offer a heart felt thank you.

Warm Wishes,
Marcy Soucy; GT Consultant for the Hermon School District


There are limited funds left to fund student travel for your school. Please visit our website for full details of the Ticket to Ride program.

Didital Promise Center for Arts Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

The White House and the Department of Education have announced the creation of Digital Promise, a national center created by Congress to promote technologies to transform teaching and learning.

Launched with start-up funds from the Department of Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the center will work with researchers, entrepreneurs, and schools to identify and develop new learning technologies.

Job Opportunity at the Maine Arts Commission

The Maine Arts Commission has an opening for an Arts in Education associate in Augusta, Maine. The position offers a salary range between $37,544.00 and $50,876.80 annually. The deadline for applications is October 14, 2011

The Arts in Education associate provides leadership and oversight in the planning, development, coordination, administration and evaluation of the Maine Arts Commission’s Arts in Education program.

The Arts in Education associate implements projects statewide, providing professional development opportunities and technical assistance to arts educators, teaching artists, arts organizations and others. The associate also collaborates with state and national arts organizations and agencies to promote best practices and exemplary programming in all aspects of the arts.

This position has the following minimum requirements:
A Bachelors Degree in Art, Art History, Art Education, or Art Administration, or a related field, and two (2) years experience working with artists, art groups, and/or humanities organizations. Please note that directly related experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis. A master’s degree or commensurate work experience is preferred.

Full details of this opportunity are available through the Division of Financial and Personnel Services website. Use this link (http://www.maine.gov/fps/opportunities) to access their Career Opportunities main page. Once there, select the “Arts & Humanities Associate link. Accompanying forms can be accessed by clicking the “Direct Hire” link.

Imagination Intensive Community for 2011 Announced

Telling Room Staff: photo Argy Nestor

The Maine Alliance for Arts Education, the Maine Department of Education, and the Maine Arts Commission are pleased to announce that the Telling Room in Portland has been named Maine’s 2011 Imagination Intensive Community.

With funding this year from the Kennedy Center, the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Department of Education, and Bangor Savings Bank, the Imagination Intensive Communities program is in its second year of identifying and celebrating, through an open application process, those Maine communities where schools and partnering organizations of all kinds invest in the imaginative development of children and youth.

Located in downtown Portland, the Telling Room is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers. Recognized for its many programs and community partnerships, the Telling Room focuses on young writers ages 6 to 18 and seeks to build confidence, provide real audiences for students’ stories, and strengthen literacy skills through literature, writing, music, drama and visual arts.

The Telling Room has evolved into a community that reaches beyond its own doors to collaborate with a wide variety of local and regional partners, including schools, Portland Public Library, Portland Ovations and others. As the selection panel noted, “The Telling Room should be recognized and celebrated for participating in community building in a most meaningful way through their work.”

When notified of the award, Telling Room Executive Director, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc commented, “The Telling Room is honored to be selected as an Imagination Intensive Community. We believe that the power of creative expression can change our communities and prepare our youth for future success and are pleased to join the other model communities, schools, and organizations that are teaching students in and through the arts around the state. We value this award both for recognizing our past work with young writers and artists and for the way it will push us to continue to innovate and better serve students in Greater Portland and beyond.”

Past Imaginative Intensive Communities include Arundel, Blue Hill, Camden-Rockport, Deer Isle/Stonington, North Haven, and York (2010). Five communities have received honorable mention as “emerging communities:” Dover-Foxcroft and Kittery (2011) and Brunswick, Denmark, and Portland’s Reiche School (2010).

The Telling Room was recognized as the 2011 Imagination Intensive Community at a recent awards event that included the presentation of a check for $1200, a banner, and award certificates for the Telling Room and its collaborating community partners.

Student Artists to be Honored at Blaine House

Moving and Grooving
Eric Denison
Jordan Acres School

Student artists from 17 of Maine’s schools will receive recognition from Maine’s First Lady at a Blaine House ceremony on Monday, April 11. They will receive certificates for their participation in the Maine Youth Excellence in Art exhibition that has been on display in the Capitol Complex since February.

Students, teachers and family members from places as far afield as York, Mount Desert Island and Greenville will travel to the Blaine House where they will be welcomed by Maine’s First Lady, receive recognition for their work and then finally get to see their work on display in Maine’s Capitol buildings.
Crows
Ann M. Stanley
Mount Desert Island High School

The work currently on display is part of the Maine Youth Excellence in Art program that is an ongoing partnership between Maine’s First Lady, the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Art Education Association.

The Maine Arts Commission currently houses an online gallery of the works that are displayed in the capital; the gallery can be found within the arts in education section of MaineArts.com.

Northern Regional Poetry Out Loud Results

The Maine Arts Commission congratulates all competitors at the Northern Regional Finals.

On February 17, in Ellsworth, the majestic Grand Theater opened its doors to once again host the Poetry Out Loud Northern Regional competition. Twenty-one students from twenty-one high schools in northern Maine came to show their recitation skills in this annual event that included 8500 students from across the state when it started at the classroom level back in September.

The students presenting at the regional competition were all school champions, and by the end of the evening the judges had selected five to hold the title of Northern Regional Finalist.

These five students will join the five Southern Regional finalists at the state finals competition at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston on March 11, 2011.
The five Northern Regional Finalists are: Frank Schuth from Shead High School, Genevieve Shepard from Searsport District High School, Eloise Harnett from Gardiner Area High School, Bethany Bernhardt from Erskine Academy, and Bethanie Brown from Waterville Senior High School.

Poetry Out Loud Southern Regional Results Announced

On Thursday February 10, over 150 students, teachers, and family members gathered at the City Theater in Biddeford for the Southern Regional Poetry Out Loud Competition, organized by the Maine Arts Commission. The 22 students in the competition were all Poetry Out Loud school champions or runners up who began the season at the classroom level in a field of 8500 students from 45 public, private, and parochial schools from across the state.

The competition included two rounds for each student to recite a poem selected from a list compiled by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Round three heard the top 10 semi-finalists recite a third poem and cumulative scores from a bank of four judges determined the five finalists from the southern region who will compete in the State Final Poetry Out Loud Competition on Friday March 11, at the Franco-American Heritage Center in Lewiston. At the State Final the five students from the southern region will compete against five students from the northern region for the title of State Champion and an all expenses paid trip to Washington, DC for the National Poetry Out Loud Championship. The Northern Regional competition is set to take place at 4:00pm on Thursday February 17 at the Grand in Ellsworth.

The five students that will progress from the Southern Regional Final are pictured below.
From left to right:
Lulu Hawkes from Catherine McAuley High School
Ian Hawkes from Gorham High School
Munye Mohamed from Portland High School
Morgan Wiggan from Thornton Academy
Crystal Farrington from Lake Region High School

Poetry Out Loud Southern Regional at City Theater in Biddeford

There are 8,500 students taking part in this year’s Maine Poetry Out Loud Competition. These students hail from 45 schools and are supported by 250 teachers. The first of two Maine regional competitions begins at 4:00pm on Thursday, February 10, at the City Theater in Biddeford. The event is free and open for all to attend.

Poetry Out Loud is a program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance, and competition. During the early part of the year, schools are invited to participate in classroom and schoolwide contests, advancing to a state competition on March 11. State champions will advance to the National Finals, to take place on April 28-29, 2011, in Washington, DC.

Students from the following schools will be competing in Biddeford tomorrow, where five will be chosen to advance to the state final in March. This competition is always an amazing event and your support is welcome.

Southern Regional Competing Schools

Berwick Academy- South Berwick
Catherine Mcauley High School- Portland
Cape Elizabeth High School- Cape Elizabeth
Deering High School- Portland
Gorham High School- Gorham
Greely High School- Cumberland
Hyde School- Bath
Kennebunk High School- Kennebunk
Lake Region High School- Naples
Lewiston High School- Lewiston
Lisbon High School- Lisbon Falls
Morse High School- Bath
Mt. Ararat High School- Topsham
Noble High School- North Berwick
North Yarmouth Academy- Yarmouth
Oak Hill High School- Wales
Portland High School- Portland
Sanford High School- Sanford
South Portland High School- South Portland
St. Dominic Academy- Auburn
Thornton Academy- Saco
Waynflete School- Portland
Westbrook High School- Westbrook

Maine Arts Commission visits Educare Central Maine

The Maine Arts Commission’s Arts in Education associate John Holdridge and Commission member Shannon Haines of Waterville Maine Street recently visited Educare Central Maine in Waterville. Educare Program Director Rhonda Kaiser led the tour of the new state of the art facility that includes spacious classrooms with access to outdoor play spaces, family service areas, staff development rooms, creative centers and yes, art. “Part of the Educare philosophy at the national level is that the arts are an important component of the curriculum,” said Kaiser. “The staff was able to give input to the artists who were hired to paint all of the murals and all staff are using the Picturing America curriculum that was developed by the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

To John Holdridge the emphasis on the arts was obvious. “There was something about the student art on the walls that seemed advanced for a school whose students are all age 5 and under. The paintings resonated with exploration of the medium and the possibilities inherent in art making. And the simple fact that the pipe cleaner sculptures on display were labeled as being three dimensional means that teachers are actively engaged in using language associated with the arts. So what they are doing is developing the minds of students who will enter kindergarten being arts literate and ready to create when they enter the art room in the K-3 school that is only a corridor away.”

Teacher Tiffany Lewis spoke eloquently about the educational benefits of using the Picturing America curriculum that includes 24X36 inch prints of master works as grounding points for developing literacy and art making skills. “It’s fabulous, it’s awesome really. There are so many things to observe in the prints that aren’t in Maine. We use expanding questions, art vocabulary, and art making activities that help students make connections and practice things like recall. We send activities home so families can participate and we even had a family night at the Colby College Museum of Art,” she said. “I would love to have training in any kind of art form.”

Easily done. After the tour John Holdridge led a twenty minute poetry and performance class for Miss Tiffany’s students. Inspired by a print of a stained glass work by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the students were led through a short process of gathering words, collectively writing a poem and performing the poem with movement and sound effects. The poetry and performance served as yet another layer of understanding of the print the students had been studying and also for Miss Tiffany’s work as a teacher. “I never would have thought to do poetry, but it’s their words and it’s so simple. I love that they made a poem today. It’s the highlight of my day I think.”

Maine Arts Commission Announces Grant Program for Student Travel

The Maine Arts Commission today announced the launch of a new grant program that provides critical funding for schools seeking to transport students to arts venues and events in Maine in support of their education.

With start-up funding provided by the Jane B. Cook 1992 Charitable Trust and matched by the Maine Arts Commission, the Ticket to Ride grant program will provide funding to defray the cost of travel for Maine K-12 schools wishing to attend arts venues and events as a part of a well rounded curriculum. Beginning in January 2011, any K-12 school in Maine will be eligible to apply for one grant of up to $300 each school year. Any K-12 school in Maine with a documented free and reduced lunch student population of 50 percent or greater will be eligible to apply for one grant of up to $500 each school year.

The Ticket to Ride grant program will provide transportation funding on a first-come first-served basis until all available funds have been dispersed. Those wishing to apply for this funding should visit the education section of www.MaineArts.com.

The Maine Arts Commission is currently working to secure additional funding in order to provide for the longevity of the program. Parties interested in funding the Ticket to Ride program are asked to contact Arts in Education Associate John Holdridge, at john.holdridge@maine.gov.

Student Artists Honored at Blaine House

Emily Howell, Grade 12, Times Square
Emily with First Lady Karen Baldacci at the Blaine House Wedneday.

Augusta, ME – Young artists from schools across the state of Maine visited the Blaine House today where they met Maine’s first lady and received recognition for their participation in an art exhibition that will hang in the capitol complex through the end of January 2011.

Thirty students from schools that include Lubec Consolidated School, Fort Fairfield Elementary School, Bucksport High School, and Freeport Middle School were honored for their part in the Maine Youth Excellence in Art program. These young artists, whose work will brighten Maine’s corridors of power and oversee a change in administration, received certificates of excellence from First Lady Karen Baldacci honoring their achievement.

The Maine Youth Excellence in Art program was developed by Maine’s First Lady, working with the Maine Arts Commission, the Maine Alliance for Arts Education and the Maine Art Education Association. In the last five years this program has given young artists from Maine’s 818 public and private K-12 schools an opportunity to have their artwork exhibited in Augusta. To date, over 500 student works have been shown in the state capital.
Jonah Paris, Grade 8, September

“There is an immense amount of talent in our schools and showcasing student art is a wonderful way to create a vibrant space for our citizens and visitors to enjoy,” said Maine’s First Lady. “Everyone is thrilled to see the display of artworks created by our young artists.”

Visitors interested in seeing the works can find them located in the north and south corridors of the Burton M. Cross Office Building, the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee room, the Health and Human Services Committee room, the Governor’s Reception Area, the Office of the Speaker of the House, and the Blaine House. This is an ongoing exhibit and the next group of artwork will be put on display in early February 2011.

To access a digital gallery of the exhibition please visit MaineArts.com.
McKenna Robinson, Grade 2, Symmetrical Butterfly

All Arts in the Capitol events are free and open to the public. Visitors who require special accommodations are encouraged to call ahead. These exhibitions are a component of the Maine Arts Commission’s ongoing Arts in Education program. More information about the Maine Youth Excellence in Art program or other arts in education programs and grant opportunities managed by the Maine Arts Commission can be found at www.MaineArts.com.