As the school year comes to an end, ArtsBuild is celebrating connecting almost 14,000 Hamilton County Schools students to exciting arts experiences through the Imagine! program.
ArtsBuild’s Imagine! program is an important arts education component for Hamilton County Schools. This free arts field trip opportunity funded by ArtsBuild is available to all 42 elementary schools. The goal of Imagine! is to provide a systematic introduction and exposure to the arts for children in grades K-5 through high-quality, standards-linked arts experiences presented by our local arts partner organizations. Since its inception 13 years ago, Imagine! has provided more than 100,000 arts field trips to Hamilton County School students.
Exposure to the arts at a young age is important and engaging with art is essential to the human experience. Almost as soon as motor skills are developed, children communicate through artistic expression. The arts also challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize with “others,” and give us the opportunity to reflect, among many other benefits.
Field trips were put on hold or cancelled during the previous two academic years throughout the pandemic, but participation was renewed this year with great enthusiasm. This past school year 2022-23, ArtsBuild has served 13,761 students covering the admission fees and bus transportation costs for them to attend an in-person arts experience, with each grade level paired with a local partner below:
- Kindergarten - Creative Discovery Museum
- First Grade - Chattanooga Theatre Centre
- Second Grade - Chattanooga Ballet
- Third Grade - Chattanooga Symphony & Opera
- Fourth Grade - SoLit Theatre Express
- Fifth Grade - Hunter Museum of American Art
- Fifth Grade - Sculpture Fields at Montague Park
- Multiple Grades – Kyiv City Ballet at UTC
- Middle and High School – Americans and the Holocaust Exhibit at Chattanooga Public Library
Imagine! continues to be a popular, unique, and impactful opportunity for students in Hamilton County. Kelly Shimel, Fine Arts Coordinator for Hamilton County Schools, says, “Arts education and programming helps students develop vital communication and problem-solving skills. Through the support of ArtsBuild all Hamilton County School elementary school students have access to arts programming that provides equitable access to art experiences that help our students thrive and experience a future without limits!”
Thanks to the support of individual, corporate and foundation donors to the 2023 Annual Campaign, ArtsBuild is able to provide Imagine! at no cost to the schools or the students. Generous support for Imagine! comes from Beacon Foundation Charitable Trust, Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation, City of Chattanooga, Lillian L. Colby Foundation, Hamico Foundation, George R. Johnson Family Foundation, and Tucker Foundation.
The public can support arts education through Imagine! program by donating to ArtsBuild at ArtsBuild.com/donate or attending our upcoming special event ArtsBuild InterMission featuring Alan Cumming and the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award honorees on September 14, 2023. Tickets for the fundraiser are on sale now. Learn more at ArtsBuild.com/intermission.