Guidelines for the Arts

The Heckscher Foundation believes that the primary arena for excellent arts education is the classroom, and that arts organizations should work consistently and strategically in schools and with teachers, understanding the demands of existing curricula and official standards. In superior programs, teachers and artists work together deeply and over time so that, eventually, partner teachers consider themselves artists and participating artists consider themselves teachers. Of course, great arts programs can take place in other forums, such as after school settings or community centers, with the same commitment to strategic, in-depth planning and to using the arts as a tool for holistic learning.

We believe that education and the arts challenge students to examine similar core questions about human behavior and relationships. By engaging students in the arts on a deep level, great programs cultivate intellectual habits - especially self-articulation and thoughtful reflection - that are useful to all disciplines. In addition, the best arts organizations are constantly reflecting on their efforts to ensure that their education programming is mission-driven and tangibly effective.

When applying for a Heckscher grant, please consider the following questions (if applicable):

• How do your program’s goals mesh with Heckscher’s basic mission of “leveling the playing field” for disadvantaged young people in NYC?
• If yours is a school-based program, how do your organization’s teaching artists and/or instructors engage classroom teachers and work within existing curricula? What is your planning process with teachers and schools?
• What artistic works do you use to engage students, and have these works been adapted in any way for your program(s)? What core questions do you seek to explore through the efforts of your students to reflect on these works and/or create their own?
• How does your program prepare students for other academic work or “real life”? And how do you help students make the translation?
• What outcomes do you anticipate and how do you measure them? How does your organization evaluate whether your work is effective and reflective of your overarching mission?