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#tallahasseearts

COCA Announcements

At COCA, we'd like to welcome all of the community arts educators, arts teachers, and caregivers back to the Arts in Education Newsletter! We hope you all had a fun and restful summer and are gearing up for lots of arts education opportunities starting this August!   Make sure to visit the Tallahassee Arts Guide for arts events and classes for kids and families - just click here!

Meet COCA's new Arts Education Manager, Sahara Lyon!    Starting in July, COCA's new hire, Sahara Lyon, started as the new Arts Education Manager. Sahara has volunteered, interned, and worked at various museum institutions in both Tallahassee, and her hometown of Sarasota. Her time in museums has been primarily dedicated to education, creating and promoting programing, and engaging with communities.   In May, she graduated from Florida State University with a Master's degree in art history. She is incredibly excited to be starting at COCA and is looking forward to serving the community and its arts educators! You can reach her at her email, sahara@tallahasseearts.org, or you can schedule a 30 minute meeting with her through Calendly.

EDUCATORS - We'd love to have you as a COCA member!   COCA exists to serve the arts community and memberships are a big part of what allows us to do that. We provide services to educators and students and if you have benefited from COCA's support and resources, won't you consider become a new or renewing COCA member? Learn more by clicking here.    Questions? Contact Kathleen Spehar at kathleen@tallahasseearts.org

Order the arts license plate and let your support show wherever you go.   Purchasing a State of the Arts license plate is an affordable way to make a direct contribution to arts and culture in Leon County.   COCA gets $20 from the sale of each arts tag in Leon County and those funds support arts education programs in our community.   Click here to learn more.

Education and Public Art

Looking on The Bright Side: Artworks by Sara Lea Miller (Show closes: September 7th)   Sara Lea Miller started making art in March of 2020, right as she and the rest of the world were entering lockdown. Miller developed a self-taught process using a variety of mediums and unconventional painting tools, such as sponges and yoga mats. Her work is currently up in the Artport Gallery at the Tallahassee International Airport. Learn more about Sara, her work, and watch her artist talk with COCA here.

Quilters Unlimited: On display at the City Hall Art Gallery and online through September 5th   This juried show exhibits the art of 17 textile artists, all who are members of the Quilters Unlimited Guild. The guild was formed in 1981 to promote knowledge of and interest in quilting while offering learning opportunities to those interested. These founding values are still apparent today in the work of the artists. Learn more about the exhibit here.

COCA Public Art Walks   COCA offers a number of public art walks including the Downtown and Gaines Street Public Art Walks. These walks offer an active way of seeing and appreciating outdoor public art. If interested in organizing a field trip, you can email Sahara Lyon at sahara@tallahasseearts.org.

Teaching Resources

While live interaction is often an integral part of an arts-based curriculum, we've compiled a list of resources for teaching in the digital sphere. Online tools, content, and protocols can offer new approaches to instruction, technique, performance, and collaboration.   Visit COCA's Help for Educators webpage to find all the resources.   Please share these resources with others and if you've found resources that could help other arts teachers, please email them to sahara@tallahasseearts.org.   Click here to visit our Pinterest page for a huge, COCA curated list of creative, educational, and entertaining arts activities in all disciplines. These resources are sure to keep little ones, tweens, and teens learning and growing artistically.

COCA Arts Education Grant (Deadline: September 15th)   This grant aims to fund arts related projects that are not covered by school budgets. The grant is open to all K-12 educators in Leon County who are looking for extra funding to make their art projects and experiences possible! To learn more and apply to the grant, click here.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

Professional Development

Grantmakers in the Arts' Cultural Policy Public Learning Series: Arts Education (August 3rd, 2pm)   Each year the federal government and equivalent state and local departments of education spend millions of dollars on arts education programs, largely in program and formula-based granting. Join Creative Generation to examine how BIPOC communities and young people are shaping the structures for design, implementation and evaluation of arts programs and how policies for arts education and youth development can shape better community and youth outcomes.To learn more and register for the webinar, click here.

Job and Internship Opportunities

Apply for an internship at Wiregrass Gallery (Deadline: August 31st)   Interns will learn about gallery operations, management, display, sales, advertising, and much more. The internship is unpaid and can be done mostly online. Click here to learn more.

Tallahassee Community Chorus Internship (Deadline: August 10th)   The Tallahassee Community Chorus is hiring two interns, one in marketing, and one in singer membership, for the 35th anniversary season. Interns receive a stipend and can learn more information here.

With Appreciation

Around Town

Events, workshops and other family-friendly content on Tallahassee Arts Guide    Check out all the local, in-person and virtual arts offerings including camps, events, classes, workshops, and lessons. Visit us at www.TallahasseeArts.org to access our resources and to add your own arts-related listings.

Feeling Art Collective presents: Absolute Beginners Acrylic Painting, August 13th   This one-session, ticketed class guides students through painting their own still life while learning about color theory and composition. All materials will be provided. Learn more and buy tickets here.

AR Workshop Tallahassee offers 1 day summer camp, August 5th   At this 1 day program, campers will make an accessory board or youth plank sign. The camp is designed for students ages 7-14 and materials will be provided. Learn more and register here.

Sounds of Tallahassee - Call to Musicians Vibrant and diverse, creative and innovative - Tallahassee's music community has long been one of our greatest assets. "Sounds of Tallahassee" serves as a portal to the unique musical offerings that make the Big Bend region so special. In partnership with Moose Magnificat Radio and Cat Family Records, COCA offers this auditory adventure. We invite you to be part of "Sounds of Tallahassee," an initiative that promotes area musicians and connects them with new audiences. Any musician living in a 100-mile radius of Tallahassee is eligible for this opportunity. More info here.

Volunteer with Classroom Connection This partnership between the Tallahassee Chamber, Leon County Schools, and World Class Schools provides a strong foundation for our kindergarteners. Leon County Schools is preparing to welcome more than 3,000 kindergarteners this August, which is about 400+ more than a regular school year. With more than 170 classrooms up for adoption, we are asking our members to join us in supporting our children in their most critical year of development. This is not a monetary ask. We are asking for volunteer time and teacher support. Sign up here.

BuddyKnit Peer Mentoring BuddyKnit, a nonprofit organization started by Rickards junior Sruthi Sentil, is offering peer mentoring services to students in the Big Bend area! Our focus is to serve mentees in the foster care system, though we accept students from all backgrounds. We are recruiting both mentees (2nd to 8th grade), and mentors (6th to 12th grade). Mentors can act either as educational tutors or simply as a companion to their mentee. Check out our website for more information on the program, and how you can get involved, or reach via phone/email. Click here for more.

About the Arts in Education Newsletter

To submit listings for COCA's Arts in Education Monthly Newsletter, send a description of 50 words or less to Sahara Lyon at sahara@tallahasseearts.org. COCA reserves the right to include or exclude any listing at its discretion and to determine the content and placement of all listings. The deadline for submission is 5:00pm on the fourth Monday of the month.   COCA does not endorse any artists, organizations, or programs listed herein, nor imply stature through their inclusion in this newsletter. While we have made every effort to ensure that this information is correct, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information.

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COCA's programs are sponsored in part by the City of Tallahassee, Leon County, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.