This information was originally featured in the seventeenth edition of Creative Copy, a free service of the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Creative Copy serves artists and arts organizations in Wisconsin, and connects you to useful, timely, and important resources. If you have suggestions, comments, or questions, let us know, and if you haven't yet, make sure to subscribe to the Wisconsin Arts News and Creative Copy!
National Arts in Education Week
National Arts in Education Week is celebrated nationally from September 14th through September 20th this year. In this week's edition, we call out the importance of arts in education (which we've talked about a bit earlier this year, in Edition #4: Arts, Education, Youth Development), share resources and calling out upcoming events and conferences for arts educators, resurface the recent 2025 Wisconsin Creativity Summit, and highlight materials centered on creativity in education from the Department of Public Instruction.
Take a look at 2025's National Arts in Education Week Proclamation from Governor Evers!
Arts Education: Fast Facts
Americans for the Arts pulls together poignant statistics on arts education each year, and there is especial relevance in calling out the benefits arts within education brings to students.
Did you know...
"Students in schools that offer arts-integrated learning are more likely to show better academic outcomes, transfer knowledge from arts to non-arts domains, and demonstrate greater motivation and engagement in learning (Burnaford et al.)"
Learn more on Americans for the Arts' National Arts in Education Week webpage!
"Research suggests that integration of arts in educational curriculums naturally leads students to interact with academic content in ways that promote long-term retention, particularly those who struggle with achieving success in conventional or non-arts integrated teaching approaches (Hardiman et al.)"
For Arts Educators: Conferences
In our other newsletter, the Wisconsin Arts News, we post news, deadlines, conferences, funding opportunities, and other information relevant to the field. Taken from the Wisconsin Arts News, we've compiled a list of upcoming conferences that arts educators might find interesting.
Annual Convening
Arts Education Partnership
September 10 – 11 | Denver, CO
Alliance for Wisconsin Theatre Education Conference
Alliance for Wisconsin Theatre Education
September 19 | Stevens Point
For Arts Educators: Resources
The Wisconsin Art Education Association (WAEA), Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA), Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA), and Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction have a lot of resources for arts educators across disciplines!
Check out and register for WAEA's upcoming series, Arts in Special Education. The first session will be on September 16th, 2025, with more to follow later in 2025 and early 2026.
For Arts Educators: Panelist Opportunity
We are always looking for panelists who are willing to commit time and energy to our grant review process, especially those with a background in K-12 arts education. For more information, and to apply to be a panelist, submit an interest form.
2025 Wisconsin Creativity Summit
If you missed the recent Wisconsin Creativity Summit hosted by DPI, don't worry, you can still access it! Watch a replay of the summit, and read through the key takeaways below.
Takeaways:
- Creativity is essential for personal fulfillment and societal progress.
- All children possess unique talents and should be encouraged to explore them.
- Education systems must prioritize creativity alongside traditional subjects.
- Creating a culture of belonging enhances individual and collective creativity.
- Leadership in education should focus on nurturing creativity, not just managing it.
- The arts play a crucial role in fostering emotional connections while cultivating curiosity.
- Assessing the conditions for creativity is more important than assessing individual creativity.
- Community collaboration enhances educational experiences and outcomes.
- Every individual has the potential for brilliance, given the right conditions.
- Incremental changes can lead to significant transformations in education.