Windows Arts Program

Help us make a difference in the lives of local children through the arts! Children in the Caldwell School District and surrounding areas are among the most economically disadvantaged in the state, with some schools exceeding 90% free and reduced lunch. Families often struggle to provide basic necessities, and experiences in the arts are usually not available. Caldwell Fine Arts strives to bring the best of the world's arts into these underprivileged classrooms, to expose children to the arts and make a lasting difference along the way.

Many world and community problems come from lack of understanding. If we can teach children to look past closed doors and instead glimpse inside each other’s windows, tolerance and appreciation would increase. Our WINDOWS programs this year seeks to give students a better understanding of cultures that may be different from their own—a peek inside a window. It is our belief that understanding the “other” by experiencing their arts helps children see the best in people and recognize our common humanity.

1. The Villalobos Brothers 

In October 2018, we will present these exceptional contemporary Mexican musicians to 870 elementary school students in Jewett Auditorium and 400 at a secondary school. They state, “We believe music is a positive and fundamental force in the world. A force so powerful that it helps form, nourish and unite communities.” Their performance will help Hispanic students feel pride in their culture, and allow students from other cultures to peek through a window into their classmates’ musical heritage. With so much controversy today regarding Mexican immigration, we feel that featuring Hispanic heritage arts is a timely choice to build bridges in our racially divided community.
 

2. Ballet Folklorico Mexico Lindo 

In September-October 2018, we will offer individual classrooms (all ages) a chance to try on a skirt or hat and learn traditional Mexican folk dance. A special focus of this program will be on special needs classrooms. These students are often overlooked for arts programming, but our past inclusion programs have been very successful. A Social Experience Book will be provided before the events, to prepare students for the class. The ability of each child will be taken into account, and enough volunteers will attend to make sure it is a successful outreach for each student. As this program is portable, we will also take it to traditional classrooms in the rural COSSA district. Workshops or assemblies will be presented at these schools. We anticipate 520 students will receive this program, with 5 special education classes of about 20, and 5 rural schools of about 100.   

3. African Drummer Okaidja

On May 3, 2019, Okaidja brings his “Dancing Feet and Talking Drums” programs to 3 schools to reach about 1500 students. Through actively participating in music, dance, and storytelling, participants learn how to link cultural threads together. Because of the racial makeup of Idaho, many children don’t have the opportunity to interact with people of African descent. This program will allow them to peek inside a different window and appreciate this rich culture.

4. Where Children Sleep Art Exhibit

Housed in the new Cruzen-Murray Library, the exhibit tells stories of diverse children around the world, through their portraits and pictures of their bedrooms. This poignant storytelling presents issues of children's rights in an approachable and understandable way to other children as they literally look through the window of bedrooms belonging to beauty queens, homeless children, and child soldiers. Children are guided through the exhibit by a C of I international student. When time is available, these students will lead group discussions after the exhibit tour. We anticipate that 500 students will come tour the exhibit

5. Other Programs 

In addition to our WINDOWS programs this coming season, we also will present the following for local students:
Eugene Ballet’s The Nutcracker, December 4, 2018
Happy Dog Duo, Pianists, January 18, 2019
Children’s Theatre, January 28 – Feb. 1, 2019
Author Visit/Family Book Club, April, 2019
Sylvia Hunt, Piano, Ongoing

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