Juneau is fortunate to be one of 18 Kennedy Center Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child sites nationwide. Any Given Child Juneau uses a collective impact approach of involving local arts organizations, businesses, government and community members to increase student access to arts education. This collaborative effort seeks to align efforts in assisting the Juneau School District with enriching arts learning through student opportunities, professional development for teachers and community awareness.
We are thrilled to offer annual local “Arts Excursions” to Juneau School District Students, beginning with grades 2, 5 and 8 in the 2015-16 school year.
Beginning as an annual event this year, and through a partnership with the Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI), each and every Juneau second grader will visit the Walter Soboleff Building, a center for the sharing and study of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.
Six separate arts excursions to the Walter Soboleff Building are scheduled for November 19-20. Students will experience a performance in the Shuká Hít — the clan house that will include three cultural stories told by storyteller, Lily (Hudson) Hope. Students will also tour the exhibit space at the cultural center.
Nancy Lehnhart reveals the finished glass house screen replica to students at Auke Bay. Each panel, featuring formline designs by Preston Singletary, was traced and filled in by students with black crayon and yellow watercolor. The panels were then assembled by Lehnhart on a piece of clear plastic. Students will get to see Singletary’s actual glass house screen in the Shuká Hít (clan house) during their excursion to the Walter Soboleff Building.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4mHvZRtWCBCZWpEYm1JaV9PVWs/view?usp=sharing (Link to time-lapse video of glass house screen replica being assembled.)
Nancy Lehnhart, JDS elementary art specialist, prepared the students for the excursion by developing an art kit that was used to teach all second graders in the school district about clan houses and the glass house screen in Shuká Hít (the clan house) made by Preston Singletary. As part of the lesson, the students made a miniature replica of the screen, with their finished projects being displayed in their classrooms. As a special memento of their experience, students will take home a bookmark with images of the glass warrior posts located in the Clan House. Optional follow-up activities including an e-book about Walter Soboleff will be provided.
Bookmark featuring the glass warrior posts created by Preston Singletary.
SHI in 2012 signed a memorandum of agreement with the Juneau School District and University of Alaska Southeast to increase collaboration on educational efforts, said SHI President Rosita Worl, noting this is the type of collaboration SHI had hoped to foster.
“It is so important to teach children about the Native worldview to promote cross-cultural understanding,” Worl said. “We are thrilled that school children will come to the Walter Soboleff Building every year to learn about the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.”
The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts serve as the facilitating organization and sponsor for the Any Given Child Juneau initiative. We would like to thank Behrends Mechanical, Inc. for their generous support of $10,000 toward the arts excursions at the Walter Soboleff Building.
Want to help bring Arts Excursions to Any Given Child? Donations large and small are welcome and appreciated! To contribute, go to our fundly campaign: https://fundly.com/arts-excursions-for-all-elementary-middle-school-children