Austin, Texas—The °¼Í¹ÊÓƵ District, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the City of Austin and MINDPOP are coming together to launch a city-wide vision for creative learning in Austin, a city whose identity and economy are built on ideas and innovation.
Who: Vice President of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Darrell Ayers; Mayor Lee Leffingwell; and A°¼Í¹ÊÓƵ Superintendent Meria Carstarphen.
What: The Any Given Child partners will review the results of a year-long study on arts education. The community celebration features Brentwood Elementary School students, who will use a shadow play to illustrate how their teacher brings the arts into their classroom; and mariachi players from Bedicheck Middle School. Actors also will perform a scene from Mariachi Girl, which is a co-production of Teatro Vivo and ZACH Theatre in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 24
Background: The Any Given Child initiative is an unprecedented partnership in arts education among community arts organizations, the school district and the City of Austin. It is designed to provide all A°¼Í¹ÊÓƵ students with the opportunity to attend arts-rich schools and to ensure every child benefits from learning in a creative classroom.
Strengthening arts education and creative learning for all students is vitally important to maintaining Austin’s strong creative community and economy. The creative sector generates more than $4.35 billion in economic activity, more than $71 million in city tax revenues and almost 49,000 jobs.
Austin’s creative sector employment has risen by about 25 percent during the past 5 years, a pace more rapid that the 10 percent growth of the local economy as a whole, according to a City of Austin report released earlier this year.