ArtsBridge and The University of Oregon Museum of Art
UCI ArtsBridge Mission Statement
UCI ArtsBridge is the arts education outreach program of the University of California. The mission of UCI ArtsBridge is to work in partnership with California public schools to provide high quality arts education to California's K-12 school children. UCI ArtsBridge provides service-learning stipends to qualified UC arts students, graduate and undergraduate, to teach the arts focusing on visual art, dance, drama, and music for K-12 students.
Education in the arts is critical for a variety of reasons. The arts disciplines have both a value in, and of, themselves, and an instrumental value when linked with other subjects. Mounting evidence shows that artistic skills support pupils' acquisition of language, math, and science concepts. The California information technology and entertainment industries rely on career professionals with sophisticated expertise not only in art, design, and digital media, but also in cross-disciplinary communication and working in teams. Skills developed through the arts, such as creative thinking, problem solving, and collaboration, benefit children over the course of their lifetime.
In response to the need for arts instruction in our public schools, The University of California's Irvine campus developed the first ArtsBridge program in 1996. In 1997, California's Department of Education called for an educational renaissance to revive artistic achievement in our schools. The following year, the state legislature perceived the strength of the ArtsBridge model and the potential of the 8 UC campuses to contribute to this desired renaissance in arts education. Funding was allocated to develop the program across the state.
UCI ArtsBridge promotes locally initiated arts education; consistent and sequential, hands-on instruction in the arts during the school day; exemplary models of arts teaching, particularly in integrating arts across the curriculum; and professional development for public school teachers. Programs are evaluated through peer review, and administrative costs are closely controlled.