“The difference between arts and sciences is not analytical versus intuitive, right?” That’s what Mae Jemison, the first female African American to travel in space, questioned during her 2009 TED talk. Both a NASA astronaut and a dancer, Dr. Jemison has lived her life in the crossroads between art and science. The fact that she didn’t view career choice as an either-or situation between [...]
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s eccentric yet brilliant detective, Sherlock Holmes, is arguably one of the most enduring literary characters of all time. From the original mystery novels to more current television series and movie franchise adaptations, Conan Doyle’s characters seem to champion all aspects of the entertainment business time after time. Following the recent resurgence of all things Sherlock in popular culture, a recently [...]
There are only five 20×24-inch Polaroid instant cameras in the world. One of these 5-foot, 235-pound mammoths of a camera is responsible for many of the iconic photos produced by artist William Wegman. And if you haven’t heard of Wegman or his work with the camera, you have probably seen his art in someone’s home, online, or in a museum at one point or another. [...]
Whenever I make a pilgrimage to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), I don’t necessarily expect to be entertained. Enlightened on art and history? Sure. But I don’t plan on having a laugh over a brushstroke in a Renoir. When I recently stepped into the Edward H. Linde Gallery, however, I was met by colors and sounds that could only come from [...]
(TAC) isn’t your average arts education organization. In fact, through an interview with its co-founder Kim Guzowski, I learned there isn’t anything average about TAC. From its inception in the fall of 2012, TAC has been a confluence of theatrical production professionals, artisans and educators creating educational experiences in which students apply their knowledge as tools to build, make and create. TAC is the [...]
You may have heard of Body Worlds, an exhibition about health and the human body that has been at major cities for the past several years. It is not like other exhibitions you may have seen, however, in that it features real human bodies displayed to educate the viewer about his or her own body. These bodies are preserved using a technique called plastination, invented [...]
In 1993, a surprising study was published claiming that college students who listened to Mozart before taking a test did better than those who did not. This sparked the belief that mothers who played Mozart to their babies while still in the womb were doing them a great service because listening to classical music would make them smarter, despite the original researchers never [...]
There’s a point in the year that certain high school art-kids dread: school budget analysis. It is the time that many of their beloved programs are predictably brought to the chopping block. Art classes, film programs, writing workshops and music ensembles inevitably have their own individual budgets hacked away year by year, each annual meeting leaving them in a financial state more serious [...]
This year looks to be a benchmark year in education reform. In 2013, not only do the new Common Core State Standards start to become integrated into curricula, but one of the country’s most impactful pieces of educational legislature is up for reauthorization. The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act (America COMPETES) was first signed back [...]
With funding for and focus on the arts in decline, it’s reassuring to know there is a foundation explicitly dedicated to finding and supporting the next generation of artists. The National YoungArts Foundation, founded in 1981 by Ted and Lin Arison, has supported thousands of these artists already, and many have grown to become leading professionals in their fields. YoungArts touches the lives of [...]