Words and Images courtesy of Arts for Learning.
The public is invited to view a unique collection of student artwork exhibited at the Chrysler
Museum of Art from May 9 to June 11, 2023. The visual art pieces were created by upper
elementary students who have participated in a series of arts-integrated afterschool programs this
spring, guided by Arts for Learning’s professional teaching artists.
In March, Arts for Learning (A4L), the Virginia affiliate of Young Audiences, Inc., launched
residencies at three Title 1 elementary schools in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach,
marking the most ambitious project in the organization’s 68-year history. The project is named
IDEAL, Intentional Designs of Expression in Artistic Languages. In the first year of the three-year
residency, 54 students have explored themes of self-identity, collaboration, and community
through different art forms: dance, music, and visual art.
Meeting twice a week in 90-minute sessions, students were led by Arts for Learning’s professional
teaching artists who are experts in their particular art forms. The program’s highlight comes
Thursday, May 11 when students will perform and show off their artwork for family, friends, and
community leaders. The Chrysler Museum donated space in the Margaret Shepherd Ray Family
and Student Gallery for the art exhibit.
“To bring students to the museum and show them it’s their place to have a voice is just an amazing
opportunity,” said Anna Green, Chief Operations Officer for Arts for Learning. “It may inspire
them to go on and create art or find their voice in movement or music or in other ways.”
Students have been led by teaching artists Cindy Aitken, Gary Garlic, and Jennifer Graham at
Lindenwood Elementary in Norfolk; Asiko-oluwa Aderin and Nathan Richardson at Westhaven
Elementary in Portsmouth; and Jackie Adonis and Valerie Davis at College Park Elementary in
Virginia Beach. No student was charged a fee to participate in the IDEAL program, and they are
being transported by bus at no cost to Thursday’s reception and exhibit.
More information about the IDEAL residency: A4L’s Education and Program team developed
the curriculum, which is tied to various Virginia Standards of Learning, including visual arts,
dance, English, and social-emotional learning. In addition to helping students develop creative and
artistic talents, the IDEAL project is designed to increase students’ self-worth, while improving
their academic performance and decreasing absenteeism and problem behaviors.
“We’re looking to reach the students who are struggling, to give them that hands-on opportunity
to discover their voice through the arts and to broaden their view of community,” Green said.
In addition to the partnership with the Chrysler Museum, Arts for Learning partnered with the
Richmond Ballet, which presented in-school dance performances for residency students as well as
for other students at each school.
The bulk of the project’s funding comes from the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, which
awarded Arts for Learning a Cultural Vitality grant of $97,500—the largest grant in the
organization’s history—to be paid over the course of three years. Other funders for the first year
of the project include Arts Alliance; Mr. Gary Jensen, the arts commissions of Norfolk,
Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach; National Endowment for the Arts; PRA Group; Portsmouth
General Hospital Foundation; Mr. Lawrence Steingold; Tidewater Children’s Foundation; the
city of Virginia Beach; Virginia Commission for the Arts; and Walmart.
Information about Arts for Learning: Young Audiences of Virginia, Inc., doing business as
Arts for Learning, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Norfolk. Now in its 68th year,
Arts for Learning’s mission is to inspire and engage students in and through the arts. A4L’s
professional musicians, dancers, and visual and literary artists use their art forms as teaching tools
to integrate curriculum concepts with the arts and to expose students to a great diversity of cultures
and traditions.