Grants for Schools

Arts in Education

Children are natural artists. They draw, paint, sing, dance, write and tell stories, pretend to be someone else. Their world is all about imagining and exploring.

Arts learning and artistic expression fuel a child's natural creativity. They also helps young people be better students in other subjects. Research shows that students who study the arts have higher academic achievement and higher SAT scores than other students. Arts activities build self-confidence, and reinforce students’ critical thinking and discipline.

The Minnesota State Arts Board Arts in Education (AIE) program is designed to encourage and expand young people’s natural interest and abilities in arts activities. It helps deliver high-quality, hands-on, creative arts learning opportunities for students; and gives teachers new tools and model arts learning activities to incorporate into their classrooms.

The Arts Board’s Arts in Education program has three components:

• Grants for schools that want to involve a professional artist in their school arts programming. The Arts Board has three programs in this area: School Support for all Minnesota schools, K-12 Arts Challenge Minnesota for schools outside the seven-county metro area, and CAPP School Support for schools in currently designated CAPP districts.
• A roster of teaching artists who are skilled and available to work in schools; and
• Grants for arts organizations that conduct artistic residencies.

Residency model
The Arts Board’s arts in education residency model outlines the characteristics, roles, and responsibilities necessary for any artist residency funded by the Arts Board.

Other sources of funding
Many other public and private organizations provide funds for arts in education. As a service to schools looking for additional support, the Arts Board has compiled a list of some of these arts in education funding sources.