In January, TCOE announced that it would expand its annual National Arts Education Month program and invited Tulare County educators to submit a wider variety of their students’ work for display in a virtual gallery. The response was overwhelming. Over 1,000 new paintings, drawings, photographs, songs, dances, films, plays, and poems were received from 35 Tulare County schools.
“To honor National Arts Education Month and to recognize the impact that the arts have had during the extraordinary 2020-21 school year, we wanted to do something very special featuring artifacts from all areas of artistic expression,” said Kate Stover, TCOE visual and performing arts curriculum specialist. “The gallery we built includes the 200 pieces of art submitted by educators for our Student Art Exhibition last fall, plus 1,000 additional works in dance, media arts, music, theatre, and other visual arts.”
Traditionally, March is the month TCOE holds its Best of Show Student Art Exhibition. The Student Art Exhibition was organized virtually this year, opening in December at tcoe.org/ArtGallery. The pieces in this virtual gallery were combined with the artwork received from Tulare County schools last month – bringing the total number of works to over 1,200. To view the Tulare County Arts Education Month Celebration Gallery, visit tcoe.org/AEMCelebration.
“We believe the arts are an essential part of a well-rounded education, providing students with the necessary skills for success in life,” said Tulare County Superintendent of Schools Tim Hire. “They promote health, wellness, inclusion, and acceptance while honoring culture, diversity, history, and traditions. While this year has been a challenging one, the arts have remained a vital outlet for hope and healing.”