Arts in Education

New Mexico Arts is committed to supporting arts education in all its various forms. Both in-school and school programs are supported through Arts in Learning funding or through general support of the many non-profit organizations funded by New Mexico Arts who work in New Mexico schools throughout the state.

New Mexico Arts:

• Funds programs for K-12 projects and residencies in the state’s schools
• Leads the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest in the state
• Presents professional development workshops for teachers and teaching artists
• Provides resources such as arts education advocacy kits, research findings, and information on funding opportunities
• Collaborates with such organizations as the NM Public Education Department, New Mexico Advisory Council for Arts Education, New Mexico Alliance for Arts Education, and New Mexico Art Education Association

Highlighted Arts Education Programs

• Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest
  In 2013, 1,300 New Mexico high school students from across the state participated in Poetry Out Loud – a national recitation contest sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Eleven school champions from Albuquerque, Bloomfield, Carlsbad, Deming, Las Cruces, Raton and Rio Rancho competed in the state finals at the New Mexico Museum of Art on March 3. State Champion SethWilson Gray, 16, of V. Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho earned $200, plus $500 for his school library for the purchase of poetry books, and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC for the national finals where he competed against 52 other state or territory winners for $20,000 in prizes. For information on participating in Poetry Out Loud click here.
• Fine Arts Education Act
  In 2012, New Mexico Arts commissioned a study of the ten-year impact of the Fine Arts Education Act. The act, passed in 2003 by the New Mexico Legislature, provides funding for arts education in New Mexico elementary schools. The research and report, to be conducted and presented in three phases, is designed to answer such questions as how many jobs were created by the act, have student outcomes changed, and has parental involvement increased? Phase I is complete and can be read here.

Arts Education Funding

New Mexico Arts offers two funding categories for arts education projects in or with K-12 schools.

• Arts Learning in Schools – Projects funding supports a wide range of programs taking place in K-12 schools either during school hours or in after-school programs. These programs focus on creative process arts activities, arts activities integrated into other content areas, art history, or arts education professional development.
• Arts Learning in Schools – Residencies funding supports guest individual artists teamed with certified teachers to create programs that promote learning in and through the arts for schools. (Please note that New Mexico Arts is unable to fund individuals directly due to a provision in the state constitution. Applicants must be a school district, charter school or 501(c)3.)

For full information on Arts Learning funding opportunities download the New Mexico Arts Funding Guidelines or contact the Arts Education Program Coordinator at (505) 827-6490.