Learning through Creativity: Project Lit

August 30, 2016

Would you be more likely to pay attention in class if a poet was teaching? Would you better absorb a science lesson if you were singing it out loud? Would you understand an event in history if you saw it acted out in a play? In Project Lit, our new K-12 Engagement initiative, teaching artists will explore the answers to those questions throughout the 16-17 season.

Teaching artists from Valley arts organizations will use tools of creativity – like humor, improvisation, visual arts, spoken word and hip-hop – to help students develop traditional and critical literacies. Director of Engagement Mandy Tripoli says the strength of the initiative is through “creating safe spaces for students to learn in, through and about the arts,” to build a foundation for learning and opportunities to build critical literacies beyond the traditional reading and writing, to the social, emotional and development of 21^st century learning skills.

This kind of engagement work in partnership with schools is not new to the Arts Center; it’s is an expansion of existing Engagement programming which serves over 55,000 students annually. Under the Project Lit umbrella, we will partner with Phonetic Spit to deliver Literacy through Spoken Word, with Humor Writes for Literacy through Improv, with ASU’s School of Film, Dance & Theatre - Theatre for Youth Program for Literacy through Drama, MAC’s Performing Live series for Literacy through Performance, and AZ Beat Lab for Literacy through Hip Hop.

Want to know more? Visit MesaArtsCenter.com/engagement