Artists Creating Together

1140 Monroe Ave NW Suite 4101 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616-885-5866 p 616-885-5867 f www.artistscreatingtogether.org
September 17, 2014

Dear Special Education Teacher:

Artists Creating Together is proud to announce its 29
th
year of arts programming in Kent County! Each year,
ACT offers opportunities for special education teachers in Kent County to apply for a hands-on art experience
in their classrooms and to attend Festival Day at no cost to the classroom or school.

Art addresses many different areas of learning, and promotes student growth on both a personal and
academic level. These art experiences provide a fun and powerful avenue for students to develop important
new skills and work on their existing classroom goals. Even more importantly, these experiences help
students grow in self-confidence, provide a positive emotional outlet, and break-down barriers that can
sometimes hold students back.

Learn more about ACTs art programs below. If you are interested in applying for any of these three
programs (Residency, Scholarship, or Festival Day), attendance at one of the four meetings listed below is
mandatory.

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This year, ACT is no longer offering 3-hour Workshops. Instead, we will be granting more 10-hour
Residencies, giving a larger number of classrooms the opportunity to have a longer,
more in-depth art experience!

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Through a residency, a local, professional artist will come to your classroom and
facilitate a 10-hour interactive learning experience in the arts.

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You are invited to submit an application and proposal for an art experience of your
choice, according to your students interests and needs. These art experiences can
be in dance, theater, puppetry, music, creative writing, the visual arts or any other
art-related theme.

ACT will grant residency applications based on available resources. If your application is accepted, ACT
will provide you with an artist and supplies in correspondence with the proposal. The artist will then
collaborate closely with you to develop an art experience based on your proposal that exposes the
students to art forms and projects that enhance their overall learning.

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Each year, ACT awards three scholarships for individual students. Scholarship recipients will receive
one-on-one instruction for three hours with a local artist in the discipline of the students choice. You
are invited to apply for this scholarship on behalf of a student that you believe would benefit from the
individual attention in a specific artistic discipline.

Artists Creating Together
1140 Monroe Ave NW Suite 4101 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 616-885-5866 p 616-885-5867 f www.artistscreatingtogether.org

!
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Each year, ACT art programming culminates in an annual arts celebration called Festival Day, held at
Lincoln Campus in Grand Rapids. The day starts with an opening ceremony, which includes
performances by student choral and dance groups, and local music
groups. Students then participate in a series of hands-on art
workshops in a variety of disciplines and outdoor art activities.
Some of the highlights of the day for the students include
mask-making, truck painting (using water guns and rollers to paint
canvases which are covering a semi-truck), and arts arcades. Many
organizations and volunteer groups from throughout the
community partner with ACT to put on this exciting event. This very
fun and special day of creative exploration is one that many
classrooms look forward to all year long!

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To be eligible for these programs, your students must be age 7 and up. To apply you MUST attend one
of the four mandatory meetings listed below. At these meetings, you will learn more about each of
these programs, and be given applications for these programs.




If you have any questions, please contact Becky Baker, ACT Program Coordinator, at #616-885-5866 or
coordinator@artistscreatingtogether.org.
We look forward to another wonderful year of art programming!

Becky Baker, Program Coordinator coordinator@artistscreatingtogether.org

Date

Time

Location

Wednesday, Oct 8

4:00 pm

East Kentwood Freshman Campus, Room #111
6170 Valley Lane SE, Kentwood, MI 49508

Tuesday, Oct 14

3:00 pm

Lincoln School, Cafeteria
860 Crahen NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525

Thursday, Oct 16

5:15 pm

Artists Creating Together Office
1140 Monroe Ave NW Suite 4101, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Monday, Oct 20

4:00 pm

North Rockford Middle School, Auditorium
397 E. Division St, Rockford, MI 49341