Tale Tellers of St. Augustine Awarded School Based Art Grant
CRISP ELLERT GRANT 2019-20 – extended to 2021 due to COVID 19
St. Augustine, FL–
The Tale Tellers of St. Augustine has received a second Grant from the Crisp-Ellert Fund at the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida (www.jaxcf.org) is Florida’s oldest and largest community foundation which works to stimulate philanthropy to build better community.
With the help of this new grant, Tale Tellers of St. Augustine has expanded their highly successful pilot program, “The Picture in the Story” that was initially funded in 2017-18“. The original outreach program served 11 elementary school classes; the five artist/tellers, all members of Tale Tellers of St. Augustine, integrated language and visual arts curricula in cooperation with classroom teachers. Students created individual art work that was in public exhibition at Vilano Fest. The expanded program will reach 20 classes. Several of the workshops were completed before March of 2020. Others have had to be postponed due to COVID-19. Arrangements are currently underway to do the remaining classes in a virtual format.
All of the artist/tellers are not only professional tellers, but also have a background in visual arts and experience working in the classroom. A designated teller, during a one-hour session, would tell a story and help each student in a single classroom of of K-5 level to create an individual piece of original visual artwork. The artwork will be based on the spoken word and/or musical story shared by that teller. Participating schools and/or classrooms will be encouraged to display the artwork so that additional students may benefit. Each one-hour session in a classroom setting (virtual or live) will include the performance of a short story, discussion and instruction, and the completion of individual works utilizing an inexpensive, familiar medium. The artwork will be photographed and presented in a virtual gallery in lieu of an in person exhibition.
Visual arts education and appreciation will be advanced by promoting enrichment via professional multi-disciplinary artists. Through these artists, students can begin to view the arts as a viable career. The program also advances education and appreciation of the visual arts in a school-age population through a number of CPALMS standards encompassing critical thinking and reflection, organizational structure, historical and global connections, as well as skills, techniques and processes. It will also teach cross disciplinary standards through the arts. It is an approach that strives to grow appreciation for the arts and well as new artists!
Chris Kastle, Program Director, will coordinate scheduling and connect interested St. Augustine elementary schools in participating in the program. Please contact Chris by email at [email protected] or 773-576-7245 to find out more information to get enrolled and involved with the Tale Tellers of St. Augustine.
Tale Tellers of St. Augustine is a performing guild devoted to the advocacy of storytelling as an art form and entertainment medium. Founded in 1993, the performing guild is a Florida not-for-profit corporation and has a 25-member collective of professional storytellers and storytelling enthusiasts supporting performances throughout the year at the Limelight Theatre, public libraries, the Florida Storytelling Festival and other venues. To learn more visit www.taletellers.org.
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