Studio NPL: Teen Tech Learning Lab and Makerspace – Niq Tognoni (B201)
Among many arts-based programs at NPL, Studio NPL is a teen tech learning lab and makerspace offering a unique opportunity to engage artists with patrons in a meaningful way. In this discussion, we will open up our model of employing artists for feedback, guidance and brainstorming.

Supporting Learning through Invitations and Questions – Dee Kimbrell (B209)
Many teachers want to evolve their role from teacher to learning facilitator, but keep finding they are following the “teacher” model they were taught. Aren’t teachers supposed to have all the answers? What about having the questions? Question-asking skills are not taught in traditional education, but are the tools you need to support your student’s natural curiosity. In this interactive workshop you will polish your question-asking skills that will open the doors of possibility.

Log Cabin Quilts: Integrating Reading, History, Math and Art – Bailey Earith (B202)
Participants will explore the world of Log Cabin quilts and discover how this one art lesson can be used to support reading, history and math with K-3 students. Participants will learn to craft a paper log cabin block and work together in groups to combine their squares into larger designs. We will discuss how to grade this project to increase or decrease its complexity.

Making the Most of Your Time on Social Media – Kory Wells (P C)
Whether you’re an artist or involved in an arts organization or project, social media may feel like the last thing you have time for and you may sometimes wonder if it’s worth your time at all. In this session we’ll explore the latest online tools and proven strategies, such as content calendars, to help you better integrate social media into the business side of your art.

Arts Integration 101, Part I – Brandi Self & Kelly Farr (P A)
What is arts integration? What exactly does it take to create an arts integrated lesson? How do you incorporate state standards for both arts and non-arts content in an integrated lesson? This lesson will provide answers to these questions, as well as focus on strategies for writing lessons, teaching the standards and assessing learning. Part II immediately follows this session. YOU MUST ALSO ATTEND PART II.

Color Your Words – Nancy Cooley (B 203)
Learn to use Pochoir & Frottage techniques to create unique broadsides, handouts, cards or leaflets. Social Justice, self-promotion or community information, the choice is yours. Join us and add another medium to your communication tool box in this fast paced, informative hour. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON THURSDAY.

TN Arts Commission Online Grants – Hal Partlow and TN Arts Commission Program Staff (P B)
This session will introduce attendees to the Tennessee Arts Commission’s new online grant vendor, what the new vendor means to existing and new grant applicants, and how the new online grant system will streamline the process of applying for funding and managing grant awards. This session is appropriate for all applicants – individuals, nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY.

Bringing Children’s Literature to Life with Music, Movement and Creativity – Jennifer Vannatta-Hall (B 320)
The Orff-Schulwerk approach to music education integrates music, movement, speech and drama. This arts experience will immerse participants in simple, yet fun and engaging experiences involving singing, playing instruments, creating and moving. We will bring the children’s book Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin to life by adding music, movement and creativity. This session will culminate in a short performance of Secret Pizza Party.

Little Root Community Garden – Olive Durant (B 205)
Learn about Little Root, a childhood garden of dreams that is the result of 12 weeks of imaginative work and play by children and adults at the Mountain Arts Community Center (MACC) on Signal Mountain. The idea to create a fairy garden occurred more than a year ago when staff members were brainstorming ways to beautify the Community Center’s surrounding 5.2 acres.

The Industrial Revolution and Script Writing – Isormari Pozo and Allison Isom (B 330)
Led by an ELL teacher and Theater Arts teacher, this workshop will provide educators with the tools for script writing with a historical context of the Industrial Revolution. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON THURSDAY.

The Art & Soul of Reflection: Facilitating Transformative Education Through the Power of Storytelling – Cynthia Young (B 206)
This generation of high achievers has fallen into a vicious cycle consumed with chasing Bigger! Better! Faster! Wealthier! Join me in an experience designed to HELP open our eyes and get us off this treadmill and more in touch with who we are at our core or our raison d’ etre. This session will bring theory to practice by harnessing the fundamentals of reflection and journaling using storytelling, narratives and poetry to weave personal tapestries. Learn to coach students on how to bring important concepts to life in class, engage others in creative research/projects and present their stories in compelling ways. In this fast paced interactive session, participants will learn how the power of the arts, reflection, journal writing and storytelling can heal, empower, expand and transform the lives of students. Participants will acquire creative strategies bridging mind, body and spirit to promote engaged learning, civic development, and overall well- being. Colleagues will walk away from this session with tools to enable students to move from one-dimensional academic pursuits, to a transformational educational experience they will remember far beyond graduation.

Prospect Research for the Nonprofit Manager – Celine Thackston (B 214)
This session will delve into foundation prospect research for the nonprofit arts manager. Identify the best tools for researching funding opportunities, glean useful information from a funder’s 990, build a system for identifying prospects, and develop a plan for approaching funders. The group will share tips, strategies and resources to create a comprehensive plan for prospect research.

TN Arts Commission Grants Workshop – Hal Partlow and TN Arts Commission Program Staff (P B)
This session will cover Tennessee Arts Commission grant opportunities for individuals, nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies.

The Arts in K-12 Schools: How Can Classroom Teachers and Arts Specialists Collaborate to Impact Change in Our Communities? – Jennifer Vannatta-Hall (B 209)
This Sparkplug Session is a practical guide for planning, teaching and assessing a general music and movement lesson. An example 30-minute elementary music and movement lesson will be demonstrated, followed by discussion and multiple forms of assessment. The example lesson will be rooted in the Tennessee State Standards for Music.

Principles of Choreography – Deborah Walker (B GYM)
This session will focus on dance and choreography. The Five Principles of Choreography and strategies on how to group, manage and assess students will be introduced. The dances can be used for warm-up activities for classrooms and physical education. The session is great for Pre-K—8th grades.

Defining and Measuring Social Media Success – Kory Wells (P C)
Most of us are on Facebook, and some of us are on Twitter, Instagram and more, but are you using those platforms as effectively as possible to promote your art or arts organization and, just as importantly, to interact with the greater arts community? Do you have specific goals with regards to social media? If you don’t, what might some goals be? And in what ways and with what tools can you measure social media success? In this session, we’ll share ideas for taking our social media efforts to a new level and measuring those efforts.

Teaching Artistry Meets Purpose – Beth Anne Musiker (B LIB)
This interactive session will provide an opportunity to explore the purposes for which teaching artists are hired and the environments, methodologies, best practices, specific skill sets and degrees required for successful practice in each. We will also consider the need for and availability of training in each of these areas that ensures a highly trained work force of teaching artists. Additional focus will be given to Aesthetic Education practice and its value beyond the classroom.

Going Off-Campus: Increasing Access to Quality Arts Learning Experiences through University Partnerships – Laurie Melnik (B 330)
As a community-engaged campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga facilitates experiential learning opportunities around various community issues, such as increasing equitable access to quality K-12 arts education. The Southeast Center for Education in the Arts at UTC partners across campus and with Hamilton County Schools to provide visual art opportunities to elementary schools without visual art specialists. If your school community lacks access to arts learning experiences in one or more areas, then this session is for you. This session provides practical strategies for partnering with universities to increase access to arts education during the school day.

Arts Integration 101, Part II – Brandi Self (P A)
What is arts integration? What exactly does it take to create an arts integrated lesson? How do you incorporate state standards for both arts and non-arts content in an integrated lesson? This lesson will provide answers to these questions as well as focus on strategies for writing lessons, teaching the standards and assessing learning. YOU MUST ALSO ATTEND PART I.

Breaking Into Print: Using Our Talents to Write Books – Alice Faye Duncan (B 203)
Led by the author of the book Honey Baby Sugar Child (Simon and Schuster), this session will help artists and teachers compose and submit manuscripts for publication.

The National G.H.O.S.T. Project – Cherri Coleman (B 202)
Produce better persuasive speakers and writers by harnessing student fascination with horror and ghost stories. We’ll explore folklore and urban legends, delve into history’s mysteries and examine societal fears. We’ll swap tales, examine techniques of plot, spacing and suspense, and guide students in writing and performing their own tantalizing tale. The expanded plans dive deeply into dark gothic literary classics, giving students a richer appreciation of authors such as Poe and the Brontë sisters.

Yarnbombing – Julie Dahlhauser (B 201)
Yarnbombing has become a controversial urban art form. It annoys some people, yet others see it as a woolly hug from an anonymous neighbor. Learn how a school librarian incorporated math, design and problem-solving to get people knitting in the Binghampton neighborhood near Memphis’ Carpenter Art Garden.

• ADA Coordinators – Kim Johnson and Sarah Sampson (B 214)
Does your organization have a disability policy? Have you ever thought about how a client or community member would access your building, your website, your services if he or she could not see or uses a wheelchair? There are about 1 million people in Tennessee who have disabilities. We will talk about what accessibility means to the Disability Community and steps you can take to be more accessible to us.

• Artists – Carolyn German (B 201)

• Arts Specialists – Holly Briggs (B 202)

• Classroom Teachers – Libby Dawson Galster (B 204)

• Classroom Teachers Interested in Arts Integration – Kelly Farr (P A)

• Development Directors – Jennifer Harris (B 330)

• Executive Directors/Board Members – Anne Pope (P B)

• Local Arts Agencies – Shannon Ford (B 206)

• Principals – Brandi Self (B 209)

• Public Art Administrators – Caroline Vincent (B 207)

• Social Media – Kory Wells (P C)

• Teaching Artists – Beth Anne Musiker (B 203)

Peace in the House – Deborah Frazier (B 207)
Peace in the House uses the arts as a platform for conflict resolution from which youth become the authentic voices for alternative approaches to violence and inappropriate behavior. Generally, youth face difficult choices that transcend ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status. Youth learn and demonstrate how they can reduce or eliminate confrontational violence through creative expressions that promote peace.

Puppetry Inspires Partnerships in Early Childhood Education – Elyse Adler (B 330)
Community partnerships are the key to creating meaningful arts programming. Wishing Chair Productions will present a literature-inspired marionette show and puppet demonstration. In conjunction, leaders from the Nashville Public Library and Bringing Books to Life will share how the art of puppetry inspired the growth of a preschool education program that reflects and addresses the needs of the Nashville early childhood education community.

Empty Bowl: Alleviating Hunger – Olive Durant (B 209)
The Tennessee Craft/Handmade Here committee is showcasing two events that go hand-in-hand to highlight its 50th year in the Chattanooga area: Charit-a-Bowl Cause and Empty Bowl workshop. The initiatives encourage cultural offerings and provide a creative outlet that gives back to the community by alleviating hunger in the Chattanooga area.

CommuniCREATE: Breaking Barriers to Parental Involvement through After School Studios – Laurie Melnik (B 216)
Let’s CommuniCREATE! The Southeast Center for Education in the Arts at UTC partnered with Barger Academy of Fine Arts to develop CommuniCREATE, a multifaceted project aimed at increasing parental involvement through providing access to experiential opportunities in the arts for K-12 students and their families. The project resulted in developing a toolkit of resources that helps other schools create a similar program for their community. During this session, participants will learn more about how to break barriers to parental involvement through arts education, actively explore the CommuniCREATE toolkit and develop parental engagement strategies for the communities they serve.

Arts Organizations Shape a Community; Communities Shape Arts Organizations – (Bill May P A) 
Often the arts are viewed as something extraneous, frill rather than necessity. In reality, the arts are essential to creating a healthy community and economy. This presentation explores how the arts are vital to quality of life in a community and ways to build a community culture of support for arts. Using as examples, relationships among Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, city of Gatlinburg and Sevier County, this discussion focuses on the importance of building private/public partnerships to support the arts that are mutually beneficial and valued by all.

Oasis Center: We Are Our Stories – Abby Whisenant (B 212)
Today, young men of color are disproportionately represented in juvenile justice systems across the country. These young men receive certain damaging messages at very young ages about who they are and what they will become through those experiences. The We Are Our Stories mural series through Oasis Center’s Underground Art Studio aimed to put the power of the story into the hands of juvenile court-involved young men of color by addressing and challenging stereotypes that influence how they are perceived by themselves, their families,  peers and their communities. Learn how art can be used in youth-centered restorative justice work.

Writer Corps – Matthew Brown (B 204)
Writer Corps is a community literacy project based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is comprised of and operated for U.S. military veterans and their families. Through creative writing workshops, reading, and the annual publication of a journal featuring works penned by group members, Writer Corps seeks to promote a sense of normalcy and connection for its members while raising awareness among the civilian population of the realities of the veteran experience. Writer Corps members are giving new voice to some of the oldest stories that draw us together as a culture and bind us as one people.

Addressing Racial and Cultural Diversity: Two Chattanooga Case Studies – James McKissic (B 210)
This hands-on and interactive workshop encourages arts professionals to address racial and cultural diversity in the arts through two examples in Chattanooga: Jazzanooga Music Festival and the city’s Outdoor Ambassador initiative.

Ballet Tennessee – Anna Baker-VanCura (B 214)
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Ballet Tennessee’s Dance Alive and Talent Identification programs. These innovative and educational community programs introduce low-income community youth to the art of dance and afford long-term professional track training to dedicated, talented children. This presentation highlights the stories, leadership, community partnerships and evolution of these unique programs, which continue to be relevant and valuable assets in the Chattanooga community.

Poverty & the Arts – Nicole Brandt & Clare Fernandez (P B) 
Poverty & the Arts is a local social enterprise nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower homeless and formerly homeless individuals as artists and creatives by helping them to form community relationships, generate income through their art, gain confidence and bring purpose to their lives. In this session, we will facilitate open and honest discussion on Nashville’s homeless community, as well as how the arts act as a transformative mechanism for change in transient populations. We will share information about our offered programs and testimonies from our artists, as well as the challenges and successes of using the arts to transform homelessness through creativity and community. This session is beneficial for community professionals, K-12 educators, university administrators and anyone with a vested interest in arts and social justice.

The Bottle Cap: A Connector – Dee Kimbrell B (205)
The purpose of this workshop is to present an example of a community STEAM project that empowered a marginalized student body and resulted in the collaboration of 26 community partners and the beautification of the local neighborhood using recycled plastic bottle caps. Participants will work with open ended materials and participate in a discussion about the benefits of open ended and recycled materials to teach thinking skills and creativity.

The Cumberland Hispanic Festival: Celebrating Diversity through the Arts in Rural TN – Alysa Medina and Luis Medina (B 206)
In this session, we will discuss a case study of grassroots festival organizing in rural communities in the state looking at the Cumberland Hispanic Festival (CHF) organized by Crossville Para una Accion Solidaria (CPAS), a local committee of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC). The Cumberland Hispanic Festival has the following two objectives: 1. to provide a platform for Latino artists and performers to display their artistic abilities and 2. to increase the acceptance of growing diversity within our community by introducing minority cultural practices and celebrations to the rural community members of the Upper Cumberland. CHF is the signature event for the welcoming work and leadership development of immigrant community members in the Crossville chapter of TIRRC’s work.

Arts as Community Platforms – Ekundayo Bandele (B 207)
The social issues we commonly face are often well-understood, yet frequently people within a community are unwilling or unable to come together to develop solutions, despite knowing the benefits change would bring. Theater and other performing arts, combined with thoughtful arts-based programming can be effective tools for breaking down walls of division. Learn how, regardless of geography or demographics, the arts can be any community’s platform for raising awareness, sparking dialogue and problem-solving around jointly experienced issues, replacing power dynamics and polarization that exist elsewhere with the creativity, ingenuity and respect for collaboration that is rooted in the arts.

Accessibility and Cultural Engagement  – Dana Everts-Boehm and Kim Johnson (B 214)
Tennessee’s population is increasingly diverse in ethnicity, language and cultural traditions. This session will discuss best practices in how to reach and work within nontraditional, diverse communities to create maximum arts participation and community engagement.

A Conversation with Millennials – Molly Blankenship & Matthew Brown with Sarah Bandy, Nicole Brandt and Spencer Johnston (P A)
This session will feature a panel discussion with members of the Millennial generation who are utilizing the arts in order to advance social justice and change. The conversation will center on an exploration of the generational traits that contribute to Millennial civic engagement, the issues that are important to them, the ways in which change can be achieved and the role that the arts play in that process. Sit in on this discussion and gain a more complete understanding of the generation that is at the forefront of the social justice movement.

Integrating the Arts – Cherri Coleman (B 201)
Need ideas for how to integrate the arts into non-arts subjects? Pair up with a multi-discipline teaching artist and fellow educators to brainstorm the possibilities. We’ll begin with a trunk full of examples of existing projects, quiz the artist with unlikely possibilities, stretch the limits of dynamic collaboration and then work in teams to explore new directions for classrooms and the arts.

Teacher Collaboration for Musical Production – Carly Egan and Britiney Fife (B 320)
This session will discuss the ins and outs of producing a full scale musical geared towards upper elementary students. Facilitators will include a music specialist and classroom teacher who specializes in drama. Connections between ELA and music will be the focus, as well as building community support. Participants will be given an overview of the start to finish process, with plenty of time for exploration of musical resources and questions.

Creating Storytelling Sculptures with Model Magic Clay – Annamaria Gundlach (B 206)
Let your fingers poke, pull and push Crayola model magic clay into characters or objects that let your imagine fly. Experience the relationship between creating art visually and its impact on verbal expression as you give voice to your creation. Learn fun and easy techniques to help you create your sculpture and tell its story. All children young and old delight in this clay experience.

Connecting the World through Global Art Initiatives – Dee Kimbrell (B 202)
Are your PK-5th grade students Global Students? This workshop will focus on a number of Global Initiatives that bring the arts to your classroom and meet STEAM objectives as well as connect personally with classrooms and issues around the world. Participants will collaborate on ideas of how to incorporate these art projects in their classroom and overcome any roadblocks. Learn how to easily expand your student’s curiosity and connection to peers around the world.

Intro to Geometry: Creating Kaleidoscope Designs with 30 Degree Angles – Bailey Earith (B 203)
Participants will learn how to get their students excited about geometry through this creative project. Students will learn to work with 30 degree angles to create a kaleidoscope star design. Art teachers will enjoy the opportunity to work with radial symmetry. We will discuss how to grade this project to increase or decrease its complexity.

Sew Much Love – Deborah Frazier (B 204)
Sew Much Love is a social enterprise that demonstrates how the arts can be used to increase self-worth and build community among homeless women. It embraces the premise that art, when situated within the framework of social change, can create awareness, inspire understanding and promote engagement. It challenges pervading views of homelessness through a creative lens that adds authentic voice and imagery to an underserved, marginalized population. It is a transformative process that encourages women to see beyond their present circumstances while finding joy in discovering who they are, what they can accomplish and what they want to become.

Lights, Camera, Vocabulary – Kelly Farr (B 205)
This lesson demonstration uses vocabulary words from various subjects to create skits. Participants will enjoy collaborating to create and perform skits using actors’ tools and content specific vocabulary words. The session will also include the lesson plans and everything necessary to use this lesson in their own classrooms and schools.

Success in Alternative Venues – Carolyn German (B 209)
As momentum builds for Arts and Community Engagement, more and more arts events are taking place in non-traditional venues. In this informative session, artists and event organizers will gain valuable insights into the practical side of taking arts into the community and into alternative venues. With these tips and tools, everyone can prevent snags, breathe easier and pave a smooth way for arts events in unique locations.

TN Arts Commission Online Grants – Hal Partlow and TN Arts Commission Program Staff (B 216)
This session will introduce attendees to the Tennessee Arts Commission’s new online grant vendor, what the new vendor means to existing and new grant applicants and how the new online grant system will streamline the process of applying for funding and managing grant awards. This session is appropriate for all applicants – individuals, nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON TUESDAY and THURSDAY.

Music Makes Us – Laurie Schell (P A)
This session will share outcomes of Music Makes Us, funded by the NEA Collective Impact grant. A joint effort of Metro Nashville Public Schools, the mayor’s office and music industry and community leaders, the Music Makes Us initiative aspires to be a national model for high quality music education. With a focus on music literacy and student participation, Music Makes Us is strengthening traditional school music while adding a contemporary curriculum that embraces new technologies and reflects our diverse student population.

One Weird Trick: Social Media 101 – Erin Smith (P B)
Social media keeps us connected to our friends, family and community, but there is more to using it effectively than asking people to “like” or “follow” us. This discussion, led by the social media team of Sundress Publications, will explore several popular social media platforms and present strategies for nonprofit and community organizations to network with followers, grow an audience and engage with passionate supporters.

Planning, Teaching, Assessing: A Practical Guide for Teaching Music and Movement – Jennifer Vannatta-Hall (B320)
This session is a practical guide for planning, teaching and assessing a general music and movement lesson. An example 30-minute elementary music and movement lesson will be demonstrated, followed by a discussion of the example lesson plan and multiple forms of assessment. The example lesson will be rooted in the Tennessee State Standards for Music.

Community Building through Creative Exchange – Rebecca Berrios (B LIB)
Join the Director of Community Engagement for Metro Nashville Arts Commission in a session focused on ways to drive an equitable and vibrant community through the arts. We’ll explore national models, discuss successful local artist-driven projects and share information about funding sources that will inspire and activate your imagination to create your own shared art-making experiences in Nashville.

The Industrial Revolution and Script Writing – Isormari Pozo and Allison Isom (B 207)
Led by an ELL teacher and Theater Arts teacher, this workshop will provide educators with the tools for script writing with a historical context of the Industrial Revolution. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON TUESDAY.

TN Arts Commission Grants Workshop – Hal Partlow and TN Arts Commission Program Staff (B 216)
This session will introduce attendees to the Tennessee Arts Commission’s new online grant vendor, what the new vendor means to existing and new grant applicants, and how the new online grant system will streamline the process of applying for funding and managing grant awards. This session is appropriate for all applicants – individuals, nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY.

Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 – Grace Robinson (B 214)
Want to be sure your organization is included in the largest national study of the economic impact of nonprofit arts and culture? Join this session to learn more about Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, and find out why TN is participating for the first time on a statewide level, including regional and local studies. Pick up tips and tools, hear from local study partners and learn of the benefits and possible uses of the study in your community.

Color Your Words – Nancy Cooley B (201)
Learn to use Pochoir and Frottage techniques to create unique broadsides, handouts, cards or leaflets. Social Justice, self-promotion or community information, the choice is yours. Join us and add another medium to your communication tool box in this fast paced, informative hour. THIS SESSION IS REPEATED ON TUESDAY.

Children’s Books and Collage Art – Dana Harrell (B 202)
In this session, we will be creating children’s books using collage art (think Eric Carle…modified). This is a particularly useful lesson to use with science classes in a unit about biomes, life cycles, space etc. The participants will write a short children’s story and will create textured paper using crayon rubbings, paint and magazines. They will use their texture pages to create collages to illustrate the books. This activity can also be used in Language arts classes, math or social sciences. It is a fun, interactive art lesson perfectly integrated into any class. The supplies needed for your class are not too costly and are easy to obtain. The final product is a wonderful assessment for whatever standard you are covering in the book. We will give you resources, a slide show art lesson and book ideas!

Getting Started with the Basics: Harmonization and Improvisation in the General Music Classroom – Janel Long and Jennifer Henderson (B 330)
The Core Arts standards for Music include creating musical ideas as early as first grade. If these skills are begun early, there is no limit to what older students can accomplish. This session will include delightful repertoire in duple and triple meters and major and harmonic minor tonalities. Session participants will leave with new strategies and repertoire to foster a creative classroom environment that develops and nurtures the necessary musical skills our students need to become skilled harmonizers and improvisers.

How to Make an Envelope Book to Creatively Present a Report – Bailey Earith (B 203)
Participants will create a clever envelope book then, explore how to use it to creatively present reports in a variety of subject areas including: reading, writing, science and history. This book is very versatile and effective with K-8 students, including special education.

What Schools Need from Teaching Artists – Brandi Self (B 209)
This session will focus on what schools are looking for when bringing a teaching artist into their building. What are important “must haves” that schools need? What is the best way to get your information into the right hands? How are standards successfully integrated within a residency?

Creative Placemaking – Leonardo Vazquez (B LIB)
Creative placemaking is a new way to make places better through arts and culture. What makes it different from other ways communities have used the arts to enhance quality of life? In this workshop, explore how creative placemaking can help you achieve short-term successes and long-term improvements. Participants will learn about and develop strategies for growing effective teams; clarifying assets, issues and opportunities; conducting short-term projects and doing long-term plans.

Artists and Community Engagement: New Thinking Yields New Options – Doug Borwick, Ph.D. (P B)
What does “community engagement” mean for artists now and in the future? New relationships and new ways of thinking about the arts hold promise for artists. Rather than cutting smaller slices of the pie, they represent the possibility of baking more pies. They also suggest the need for change in approaches and in understanding of the roles of the arts. How can community engagement be undertaken in ways that yield success and also maintain artistic integrity? This workshop will examine these questions.

Build a Character: Creative Writing Prompt – Bailey Earith B (209)
Participants will construct three-dimensional figures from fabric, yarn, recycled and found objects. They will be led through a Critical Response analysis of their finished work in order to generate story ideas. Participants will learn how these figures can be used as writing prompts or to assess students’ comprehension of a novel they read. Modification suggestions will be offered for use with students in special education.

Personal Stories as Human-Centered Approach to Evaluation – Deborah Frazier and Dr. Cynthia Sadler (B 214)
Increasingly, the inclusion of personal stories and narratives has proven to be essential in adding authentic voice to program evaluations. While mixed-method evaluations typically combine qualitative and quantitative data, the use of storytelling represents a human-centered approach that places individuals and their expressed concerns/issues at the center of the evaluation process. Whether collected through individual interviews or discussion circles, these stories are complemented with multiple forms of evidence-based data, including focus groups, surveys, questionnaires and observations. Ultimately, the resulting evaluation can serve as an effective tool for program management, advocacy, fundraising, public relations and recruitment.

Digging Deeper: Arts and Social Change – Linda Steele (B 207)
This session introduces the ArtsMemphis Fellows Program and the role the arts can play in addressing social and community issues. The Program builds capacity in the field of arts and social change that began in 2014, and includes artists, leaders of community based organizations and neighborhood activists. The program invests in the power of the arts to transform and strengthen communities. Attendees will leave with information on the Fellows as a model for addressing community issues through the arts and learn the first steps of a strategic approach to do this work in their own communities.

Community Healing Power of the Arts – Ellen Gilbert (B 216)
Global Education Center teaching artists and partners will share successful programs reflecting the healing power of the arts in improving individual health and community well-being. These programs address issues of racial and cultural inequality and their effect on the well-being of individuals and our community. Participants will discuss partnerships that bring together artists from diverse cultures, health care practitioners and educators. Using music, dance and literary arts, programs explore the power of the arts to aid in dispelling myths, dismantling stereotypes, unlearning biases and alleviating fears while creating an environment of inclusion and a climate promoting wellness and emotional well-being.

Going Beyond the Basics I-II: Harmonization, Improvisation and Uneven Meters in the General Music Classroom – Janel Long and Jennifer Henderson (B 330)
Scarborough Fair. Old Joe Clark. The Ghost of John. There is a wealth of excellent children’s music outside of major and minor tonalities. Experience harmonization and improvisation in tonalities such as dorian, mixolydian, and pure minor. We all teach duple and triple meters in our music classrooms, but what about meters such as 5/8 or 7/8? Many chants and songs written in uneven meters are suitable for the general music classroom. Session participants will leave with repertoire lists and strategies to enrich their students’ musical vocabularies and enable richer improvisations and harmonization, as well as with new repertoire in uneven meters and strategies to help students incorporate these meters into their musical vocabularies.

The Armillary Sphere Sundial Lesson Unit – Cherri Coleman and Brandi Self (P C)
Explore the Armillary Sphere Public Art Sculpture as science, as art and as a symbol of group identity. Experience the discovery of time in an entry activity, evolve into global thinking with a model myth, collaboratively engage in problem solving through the process of creative writing and engage in the creative process with your own metal work illustration. This unit provides a real world context for the application of 21st century learning skills.

Arts as a Social Force for Social Change – Kiran Singh Sirah (B 212)
In this workshop, the presenter will explore the role of the Storytelling Arts in what he describes as one of the greatest conflict prevention tools that we can use to foster and establish global peaceful communities, and how we might collectively use new storytelling forms across all art forms in the arenas of peace and international development to help establish a conflict free world.

Moving Others through Movement: Dance for Social Change – Allison Brazzel (B 320)
Learn about the project that culminated in live community performances. Given that a majority of Glencliff students are children of immigrants and refugees and children living in poverty, the goal was to create a safe environment for students to share their identity through storytelling and dance. The hope was that by participating, the students would not only get to develop themselves as storytellers and dancers, but also to learn to engage in change to make our community a better place.

Rural Arts and Heritage – Bradley Hanson and Shawn Pitts with Donald Fann, Peggy Mathews and Gary Sexton (B 210)
What distinctive opportunities and responsibilities confront Tennessee’s rural arts and heritage organizations? How can rural organizations better define missions for preserving the traditional cultural legacy and enhancing the cultural infrastructure of their communities? Though rural arts and heritage organizations face many obstacles, they are also well positioned to address critical social, cultural and economic community needs. This session will feature several case studies from rural arts leaders who are working to create a stronger sense of local place and pride. The discussion will focus on the practical concerns and key lessons learned in assessing and developing rural arts programming from the ground up. Speakers will also share significant experiences that have shaped their own personal pathway in rural arts leadership.

Explore Visual Storytelling – Elizabeth Sanford (B 202)
Explore visual storytelling by making origami books. These playful structures unfold your story gradually, allowing you to control the sequence and pacing; introducing surprises and plot twists is part of the fun. Participants will choose from a variety of possible structures to make and will also have the option of creating origami envelopes or boxes to hold their books.

Collective Impact as Muse: Write Your Own “Portrait of the Artist” Poem – Kory Wells (B 216)
In this session we’ll each write our own portrait poem or statement by working through prompts that mine specific details of all we’ve experienced at the conference. Whether you write Portrait of the Artist as Bradley Academy, Portrait of My Students as an Interpretive Dance, Portrait of My Town as a Folk Song or something else, you’ll leave with a creative statement and some coalesced ideas of how the conference will continue to affect you back home.

Mandalas – Holly Briggs (B 350)
The word Mandala is Sanskrit for “circle.” Mandalas are spiritual symbols found throughout the world, particularly in Eastern culture, often representing the universe. While intricate and symbolic, mandalas use basic mathematical concepts of proportion, fraction, balance and radial symmetry to create amazingly beautiful and colorful works of art. Come create your own unique mandala, using paper circles, pencils, rulers and your imagination. This project fits to all ability levels, and can be adapted to suit all participants in grades 3-12, adults and cultural art enthusiasts.

Crafting Theater from Shared Vision – Carolyn German (B 330)
This is a fast-paced theatrical experience where Carolyn German teaches her approach to “finding a way into content”, in order to create performances, micro-plays or even full-length scripts. Reflecting on conference content, participants will choose a community issue as a theme to explore and then use 3 different theatrical contexts with which to create theater-based on that issue. German’s approach is valuable for artists in the early phases of creation of new work, as a rehearsal tool and for theater teachers/teaching artists. This session culminates in a performance of the short work created (usually 3-5 minutes).

Drumming and Dancing: Other Forms of Communication – Kofi Mawuko (B 320)
In this session, participants will learn how to communicate through percussion performance. African poly rhythms, call and response, and a circle social dance called Borborbor will be presented on the traditions of Ghana, West Africa.

“I am from. . .” Storytelling – Allison Brazzel (B 210)
Where are you from? Everyone has a story. Everyone’s story is unique. And everyone’s story is powerful. Together, with Allison Brazzel, Spanish and dance teacher at Glencliff High School in Nashville, tell your story through movement. And by sharing your story, move others to join in and be moved.

Telling Your Story Via Collage Inspired by Romare Bearden – Annamaria Gundlach (B 205)
No experience in drawing and sketching is necessary to create art inspired by Romare Bearden. This hands-on arts experience lets you tear, cut and paste newspapers, magazines and colored papers to create “your story” collage. You will think as an artist as you incorporate the elements of art to visually express who you are. This art activity encourages self-expression and is easily adaptable for lessons in creative writing. Romare Bearden’s collages can be tailored to early learners by using patterns to create colorful and expressive self-portraits.

Yarn Paintings – Jairo Prado and Susan Prado (B 214)
“Yarn paintings” are intricately composed folk art works originating from the Huichol Indians, the Aztec descendants of Jalisco and Nayarit, Mexico, as part of their spiritual practice. Historical techniques involved pressing brightly colored yarn into wooden boards coated with resin or beeswax that had been softened in the sun. The resulting pictographic work colorfully illustrated the artist’s visionary narrative using traditional tribal symbols dating back centuries. In this hands-on session, facilitated by local artist Jairo Prado, participants will learn about the origins of the folk art tradition, and create their own stylized yarn painting using symbols to represent a personal narrative. This project can be adapted to all ability levels and ages, including children grades K-12 and adult learners.

Aerial Dance – Jen Kintner (B GYM)
Come experience the magic and beauty of aerial dance. Aerial dance is a branch of modern dance first created in the 1970s. You will learn beginning moves on aerial fabrics and create a short dance piece with fellow participants.

Avian Automata for the Artistic – Nancy Cooley B (206)
Delight in the movement of your newly finished automata. Creating a simple machine can be both intriguing and informative. This is an introduction to the interactive and captivating fun you can have adding movement into your work. In the hour you will produce a form of kinetic sculpture that employs basic mechanisms to animate an object. Ever wonder “how’d they do that?” Now is your chance to find out.

Building Community through Embroidery – Nick DeFord-Badges (B 201)
In this session, participants will learn a few basic embroidery stitches so they can complete a small badge or patch that represents their artistic and creative interests. Emblems such as badges and patches are not only the perfect stitching exercise to practice new embroidery skills, but they also allow small groups to build fellowship through common identity, as the badges may then be proudly worn to symbolize people, places and creative stewardship. So pick up that needle and thread, and get stitching.

Ensemble as Community – Leslie Barker (B 209)
In the world of theater, we create through the power and unity of ensemble. A theatrical ensemble is a microcosm of what a working community looks like. A healthy ensemble, just like a healthy community, is made of working parts – community members who each have a voice and work together toward one common goal. In this workshop, we will create a performance piece about what a healthy, thriving community looks like. Together, we will examine how these techniques can be used on a larger scale to engage communities, create dialogue and tackle relevant social issues.