Artists in Schools provides opportunities for professional artists to work with young people in Victorian primary and secondary schools.
Schools engage an artist for up to 20 days to work with students and teachers on a creative project, which may be in any art form.
Eligibility
Applications are accepted from Victorian schools, including primary, secondary, government and non-government schools, including schools for students with special needs.
If a school received Artists in Schools funding for 2009, 2008 or 2007, it is ineligible to apply for funding for 2010.
The Artist
Artists may work in any art form or combination of art forms, including literature, visual arts, performing arts and new media.
The artist must be a practising professional artist who relates well to young people and communicates, discusses and demonstrates their art with ease.
Performances or workshops that are identical, or very similar to those that the artist provides regularly in schools on a commercial basis will not be supported.
The School
An Artists in Schools project needs significant support from the school.
The school needs to:
- Provide financial and in-kind support for the project within their own resources and/or through other external funding. The program will not support the entire cost of a project. Priority is given to funding artist/s fees. The school usually covers the other project costs.
- Allocate an appropriate working area for the artist.
- Provide adequate staff support, including a project coordinator and possibly a reference or support group.
- Identify the target group of students to be involved. An artist cannot be expected to work in a meaningful and in depth manner with large numbers of students.
Closing Dates
25 September 2009 for projects commencing in 2010.
It takes approximately 11 weeks from the closing date until funding results are available. It is recommended that schools plan to commence projects in Terms 2, 3 or 4.
Funds Available
Grants of $6,500 are available for schools to engage an artist for up to 20 days.
Two artists may work together on an Artists in Schools project but the total grant will remain at $6,500.
In the 2008-2009 financial year 102 applications were received and 30 (29%) were funded. The total funds awarded was $195,000 with each recipient receiving $6,500.
The program is a Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and Arts Victoria partnership with support from the Community Support Fund.
Artists in Schools Information Sessions
If you missed out on attending one of the recent Artists in Schools Information Sessions but would like to get an insight into the program and application process, you can access a recording of the session that was held online. This session was hosted in Elluminate, you can follow this link to view the recording.
Please Note: You require Java to be installed to view this session, if you are having problems, please contact your system administrator.
Either an artist or a school may initiate a project, however it is the school that must apply for funding.
The school's application must include:
- A completed application form, which includes a budget.
- A project description (see below)
- The artist's profile
- Support material relevant to the project (eg Curriculum Vitae, DVD, video, photos, CD).
Project Description
The project description can be no more than three A4 pages and must addresses the evaluation criteria under the following categories:
The School
Provide a very brief description of the school.
The Project
Explain:
- The need or demand for the project
- What you are proposing to create
- The artistic concept of the work
- How you are planning to do it including when and where the project will occur.
The Artist/s
Explain or provide:
- A brief outline of the artist's current arts practice and any relevant experience working with young people or communities. You can provide further information in your support material.
- Why you want this artist at your school
- The artist's role in the school
- The artist's role in the development and production of the collaborative work
- Number of days that the artist will work on the project.
Student Learning
Explain or provide:
- The year level and/or target student group that will be involved
- The estimated number of students to be involved
- How the project will be incorporated into the school's curriculum planning
- How the project will be integrated into the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
- How the project will be integrated into the school's assessment and reporting processes.
Teacher Learning
Describe:
- What skills knowledge will be the focus for teacher learning
- The number of teachers directly involved in skills/knowledge development
- How and when this will occur.
School Support
Describe:
- The position and role in the school of the project coordinator.
- Support mechanisms for the project coordinator and artist (eg extra time allocation for project coordination, support committee).
Applications are assessed according to the following criteria:
- A strong and innovative artistic concept
- The involvement of a suitable practising professional artist - high quality work and strong communication skills
- The extent to which the project supports learning across the curriculum in line with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
- The extent to which the project creates opportunities for teachers to expand their skills and knowledge
- How well the project is planned and supported by the school.
The Artists in Schools program aims to support a balance of art forms and a diverse range of schools across Victoria. Priority is given to projects where the impact is greatest.
Assessment Panel
Applications are assessed by a Peer Assessment Panel.
The current panel is:
- Mark Selkrig (Chair) - Artist/ Sculptor, Lecturer in Art Education, La Trobe University
- Saraid Doherty - Senior Policy Officer, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
- Christine Evely - Education Programmer, ACMI
- Kathleen Perkins- Assistant Principal, Yarra Road Primary School
- Simon Spain- Creative Producer, ArtPlay
- Meg Upton - Performing Arts Teacher, Haileybury College
- Lili Wilkinson - Online Reader Development Coordinator, Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria
- David Wong - Designer/ Artist
Assessment Process
The panel assesses and prioritises each application against the programs aims, objectives and evaluation criteria. Arts Victoria forwards the panel's recommendations for funding to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
As a recipient of Arts Victoria funding, you are required to:
- Notify Arts Victoria of any changes to your proposed project
- Publicly acknowledge the support of the Victorian Government using specific logos and text
- Acquit your grant by completing a written report on the outcomes of your funded project.
- Attend a professional development day.
Logos and Text Acknowledgement
Logos
The Victorian Government logo must be included on all promotional materials produced by the grant recipient in relation to the funded activity.
These may include (but are not restricted to):
- Posters, fliers and brochures
- Advertisements
- Invitations
- Information and education kits
- Signage
- Programs and catalogues
- Websites.
The Victorian Government logo is available in a variety of formats, please note the guidelines for its use.
Text Acknowledgement
The following text/verbal acknowledgement of Victorian Government should be used in any speeches, media releases, interviews and other circumstances where a logo may not be possible:
Artists in Schools- A Victorian Government Initiative
Acquittal Reports
When your funded activity is completed, you must provide Arts Victoria with an acquittal report within 60 days.
Failure to satisfactorily acquit funding will make you ineligible for future Arts Victoria funding and may result in action to recover the grant.
Download the aquittal report as a Word document (331 KB).
Professional Development Day
The artist and project coordinator are also required to attend an Artists in Schools professional development day in Melbourne in Term 1.
For further information about the program please contact:
Anna Kelly
T: 03 8683 3114
artistsinschools@dpc.vic.gov.au