Arts Education Grant

Utah PTA believes cultivating the arts is important to Utah's children, and participation in the arts can make a notable difference in a child's abilities, talents, and self-esteem. With support from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, the Utah PTA has grant money available to encourage local schools to develop, participate in, promote, and provide quality art programs. This grant is offered to schools annually to assist in this effort.

What is the Utah PTA Arts Education Grant?

The Utah PTA Arts Grant supports local PTA efforts for arts education activities in their school. Funds are granted one dollar for each dollar (1:1) the local PTA contributes, up to an amount set by the Utah PTA Art Education Grant Committee. Any local PTA/PTSA in good standing (current bylaws, current paid membership, and beginning and end of year paperwork submitted) is eligible to apply. The grant may be used to create or enhance an existing PTA arts program or project, hire a guest artist, provide professional development to teachers, purchase musical scores, instruments, theater rights, props, scenery, costuming, and expertise to support student performances and productions or any other art program needs. You are only limited by your imagination.

You may not use this grant on general art supplies, field trips, student transportation, admission tickets, or funding expensive commercial art programs. Any supplies approved must be specific to the approved project.

What Areas are Considered for a Grant?

Areas for grant consideration (consideration may overlap multiple areas).

(Most ideas below could support creating entries in various Reflections categories.)

Dance: Funds could be used to fund dance instructors and presenters, education of dance history, dance within the area to promote community engagement, education activities including choreography and performance, and dance projects of all sizes.
Theatre: Funds could be used for the production or presentation of traditional or classical repertoire, new plays, musicals, showcases, artist residencies, work for young audiences, experimental work, community-based work, outdoor historical dramas, and publicity.
Music: Funds could be used to bring the power of music into the lives of children through guest artists, music and movement, cultural music experiences, unconventional forms of music, composition, vocalization, and musical improvisation.
Visual Arts: Funds could be used for painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, drawing, craft, and public art. It should demonstrate exceptional artistic exploration and meaningful thought to create a project individually or on a larger scale. Funds should not be intended to purchase instructional supplies and materials.
Media Arts: Funds could be used to support developing, producing, and distributing projects that demonstrate media as art. Media arts include screen-based projects presented via film, radio, audio, video, and internet; interactive and mobile technologies; video games; and trans-media storytelling.
Literary Arts: Funds could be used to support students to write, revise, edit, publish, and perform their creative writing. This could include presenters exhibiting such media as Poetry Out Loud or storytelling and having students expound on this new knowledge through oral presentation.

Please visit the Utah Division of Arts and Museums website for great ideas and resources on available guest artists. This website is a wealth of resources for creating and planning an arts curriculum and provides a list of Guest Artists, community resources, and grants and resources for learning about the folk arts.