The elementary visual arts program – EVA – integrates art into all four Park City elementary school curriculums. The initiative brings together the Park City School District, which funds it, and the Kimball Art Center, which provides lesson plans, teacher support and art supplies.
This year, the center will bring arts educators to co-teach in classrooms, providing sequential, state-standard-aligned arts instruction throughout the week.
EVA aims to keep art in schools and promote interdisciplinary learning, says Kimball Art Center Education Director Heath Stamenov.
“Arts integration is when our students are making a project, and with that project, they're bringing together an art form and knowledge from a content area,” Stamenov said on KPCW’s Local News Hour Sept. 10. “So, it could be reading, writing, science and math.
Park City School District Fine Arts Coordinator and Eccles Center Director Bret Hughes initiated the program years ago.
“We’re thrilled that Park City School District, on the Board of Education, prioritized this, and made it integral in all four of our elementary schools,” Hughes said. “And took art from being something that students do to also being a vehicle to help them learn in multiple content areas.”
Now, Stamenov says the 13-year-old project is a labor of love.
“It takes a lot of work to do this well. It takes a lot of collaboration with teachers, a lot of conversations, understanding their curriculum,” Stamenov said. “We’re not just adding a drawing lesson to all our regular curriculum. We’re also thinking about ‘oh, could we use clay to do this? Could we use printmaking?’”
A special-event to introduce the program to parents and community adults from 6-8:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Kimball Art Center
Kimball Art Center is a financial supporter of KPCW.
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