Missouri 2021 is excited to announce Missouri Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) as the newest member of the Bicentennial Alliance. MAAE brings new supporters for Missouri’s Bicentennial, including arts educators and their students across Missouri. Now the observance of the 200th anniversary of Missouri’s statehood can add the power of some of the most creative students from around the state and their dedicated teachers to assist with finding unique and meaningful ways to promote the 2021 commemoration.
Already the Missouri Art Education Association, a long-time member of MAAE, has announced that its annual coloring book project for elementary students will be devoted to the bicentennial. Theatre instructors are discussing a playwriting contest for their students to find the best student-written short plays that best display Missouri’s past two hundred years and cast a vision for its future.
To kick off 2021, Missouri’s select All-State Choir will perform a piece by a Missouri composer. The Missouri Dance Organization is exploring how movement can help us express all that it means to be a citizen of our great state. Many other observances of the Bicentennial by Missouri students are also in the planning stages at both the state and local level. Contact your local school district for more information.
MAAE is already planning for next spring’s annual Fine Arts Education Day at the Missouri State Capitol. This day will serve as a tribute to the impressive artistic history throughout our state.
“What better way to celebrate the 200-year history of our state than to hear from the young people who will have such a major impact on its future as well?” said Jeff Sandquist, chair of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education.
MAAE is an alliance of Missouri’s professional arts educator organizations and their supporters. The organization’s mission is to support, promote, and advocate for fine arts education for the benefit of all Missourians. This is exemplified in its motto, “Every School, Every Student, Every Day.”
Over the years, MAAE has advocated for a central role for arts instruction in a student’s schooling. This advocacy was based on the growing body of evidence that identifies study in the arts as a key factor in many students’ success. In recent years, MAAE has successfully worked with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to overhaul the Arts Education Learning Standards and promote the expanding field of arts integration as an important way to reach all children in subjects as diverse as history and computer technology.
“The Arts holds incredible promise as a means to open up new skills and knowledge for even the most reluctant of learners,” said Ben Martin, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education.
The Bicentennial Alliance is a coalition of statewide non-profit organizations and government agencies working together to develop and promote statewide projects commemorating the Missouri Bicentennial. Please visit missouri2021.org to learn how you can be involved in or support what promises to be a year full of celebration and commemoration. To learn more about Missouri Alliance for Arts Education, you may visit its website at moaae.org.