Giving the Arts a Chance
BY LIZZIE EMMONS
Featured in Vol 8, Issue 2: Philanthropy
When we discuss the benefits of investing in the arts, we often talk about the beautification of our neighborhoods and the significant impact that the arts have on our economy. Although those are powerful ways that philanthropy directly impacts the arts that should continue to be robustly supported for the growth of all communities, we often overlook the critical benefits of providing arts access to students.
It’s no secret that when budgets get tight, the arts get cut. The arts in schools are often seen as extracurricular or optional. In reality, the arts are as essential as any other subject area with their own state and national curriculum standards taught by professionals with four year degrees or higher. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act signed into law in 2015, music and the arts are included in a well-rounded education. Time and time again, research shows that access to the arts for K-12 students improves academic performance, lowers dropout rates, reaches students with different learning styles, creates schools that are exciting places for learning and discovery, and results in gainful employment, completion of college degrees, and creation of community volunteers after graduation.
Despite the impressive research that proves the benefits of strong arts education programs, national support for arts education has declined in favor of other subject areas. When the arts are underfunded or cut completely, that leaves hardworking educators scrambling to find community resources for their students. That’s where philanthropy comes in to help.
Locally, the Jackson Arts Council provides resources to support arts access to students both in and out of schools. The Arts Council’s vision is for every individual in the community to have impactful cultural experiences through engagement with the arts. One way that the organization sees out their vision is through grant funding that often supplements what is not provided in schools. There are 22 Jackson Arts Council grant recipients in 2022 who will receive funds that directly provide arts access to students in the community either in or out of the classroom. These grant funds would not be possible without philanthropic support of the Jackson Arts Council. Many of the Jackson Arts Council’s grant recipients are independent arts organizations dedicated to providing arts access to K-12 students, including dance, theatre, visual arts, and music that rely on local philanthropy.
The Jackson Arts Council also launched a pilot project this year called the Jackson Art Box. This project provides free art supplies to students in the Jackson Madison County Public School System. School counselors were provided professional development training by an art therapist on how to use art as a means of expression. Free art supply boxes were delivered to school counselors at the beginning of this academic year. The Jackson Arts Council knows that this new project provides two important services: one, it provides an additional tool for students to be creative and process emotions in a safe space with a licensed professional, and two, it removes barriers to art-making by providing students with their own art supplies that they can take home.
Necessary funding for the arts at the local level and projects like the Jackson Art Box are only possible through philanthropy. When communities come together to invest in the arts through organizations like the Jackson Arts Council and other local arts groups, they are making a direct, positive impact on the lives of students. We know through proven research that removing barriers for students to participate in the arts creates pathways to success. When our students succeed, our entire community succeeds.
“What we do doesn’t have any talking or singing — you’re telling a story with your movement. That can be really powerful for a lot of kids who struggle with how to express themselves.”
“Ballet teaches so much more than just movement. It takes hard work, dedication, repetition, responsibility, and builds a great work ethic in children. Even if they aren’t planning to dance for the rest of their lives, they have skills that ballet teaches them that they will keep for the rest of their lives.”
Caroline Meinert
Artistic Director
“The arts in our schools always have to find other avenues of support to have more programs, more equipment, and more instruments for students. Special projects like the Jackson Arts Council’s grant programs help supplement needed resources to grow our music programs.”
“So many families cannot afford private lessons on their own. With funding for the arts coming to schools to provide private lessons instruction from the Jackson Arts Council, it becomes easier for students to have access to music instruction.”
Kristy White
District-wide Consulting Teacher - Music
“After school theatre programs provide safe, creative outlets that allow children to express themselves and find groups of like-minded, supportive people.”
Grayson Hart
Children and Teen Theatre Director
LIZZIE EMMONS is the Executive Director of the Jackson Arts Council. She is a native West Tennessean from Dyersburg, Tennessee. Lizzie is a passionate advocate for the arts with experience in arts administration, graphic design, education, therapy, music performance and visual arts. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for ArtsEd Tennessee as the Board Secretary, and is also the vice-chair for the City of Jackson’s Public Arts Commission. Lizzie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Master of Science in Education, both from the University of Tennessee at Martin, and a certificate in Arts Management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.