Lincoln Center Institute Workshops

The North Carolina Arts Council and the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts are partnering with the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education to create a regional site for its International Educator Workshop on the campus of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts August 2–6.

Over the years, the Lincoln Center Institute has developed and refined a professional development model for teachers and teaching artists using a curriculum based on "aesthetic education." This approach to processing and discussing an artistic experience is the perfect complement to the N.C. Arts Council's educational touring programs and also provides the students at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts additional skills to communicate about their work and their performances to students and any other audience.

In addition, the aesthetic education model fully supports North Carolina's emphasis on 21st Century skills, especially the development of creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

The Kenan Institute for the Arts and UNC School of the Arts have a long history with Lincoln Center Institute through the William R. Kenan, Jr. Fellowship Program, made possible through grants from the William R. Kenan Jr. Fund for the Arts and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. Each year six graduates in Dance, Drama and Music have the opportunity to learn practical knowledge and experience as educators in the field of arts and education and as artists embarking on a career in New York City.

The N.C. Arts Council also has a long history of fostering opportunities for professional development for teachers, administrators and arts professionals across the state. Collaborations with national partners such as the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap offer training in the areas of arts integration and early-childhood education in the arts. By establishing North Carolina as a regional site for the LCI International Educator Workshop, our constituents, including K–12 educators, will have a more balanced and comprehensive mix of professional development.

This initiative supports the Arts Council's 2009–13 Strategic Plan, Creative North Carolina. Approved by the Arts Council Board of Directors in December 2008, the plan establishes N.C. as the state of creativity in all levels and in all endeavors of civic and private life. Creative North Carolina will establish our state as a base for artists and creative people of all kinds, while encouraging a culture of creativity expressed through innovative approaches to economic development, education, and government. The arts will become both a destination and a way of life deeply rooted in the same North Carolina values that have already positioned our state as a leader in the arts and a leader in finding way that the arts can add value to every community.

The Arts Council's partnership with Kenan Institute for the Arts and with Lincoln Center Institute is a critical strategic step towards this goal.

The Kenan Institute continues to leverage its connection with the LCI program in partnership with the N.C. Arts Council this year through four on-campus events:

  • December 8-9, 2009: the LCI conducted workshops for faculty and students at UNC School of the Arts to introduce them to methodology and to highlight the LCI Kenan Fellowship Program for UNC School of the Arts graduates in Dance, Drama and Music.
  • To launch the 2010 International Educator Workshop in North Carolina, the Kenan Institute will present an introduction to LCI for education, arts and cultural leaders across the state, hosted by Secretary of Cultural Resources Linda A. Carlisle, Department of Public Instruction Superintendant June S. Atkinson, and UNC School of the Arts Chancellor John Mauceri in Winston-Salem on Monday, Feb. 15, 2010.
  • To introduce LCI's innovative practices to arts and education colleagues across North Carolina, the Kenan Institute for the Arts and the N.C. Arts Council will sponsor a one-day workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 in Winston Salem. The primary target audience for this day-long introduction includes Arts in Education Directors with arts organizations, Arts Education Coordinators at the school districts, school principals, and teaching artists. (There is a waiting list for the event.)

Establishing UNC School of the Arts as the regional site for the Lincoln Center International Educator Workshop will provide students with additional skills to be inquisitive, observant, analytical learners through experiences with live encounters with  performance, moving image and visual arts.