Van Wezel Education Department and Van Wezel Foundation Launch ArtworksAnywhere.org

January 15, 2021 – Sarasota

Serving over 35,000 students each year, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and Van Wezel Foundation believe that art can teach, art can inspire and art can work—anywhere. Thanks to philanthropic support from generous donors, the two organizations have partnered to launch www.ArtworksAnywhere.org – a site for students, families and educators to access a wide variety of arts education resources from virtual learning modules to schooltime performances and more.  

The new website provides a database of Artworks Anywhere YouTube videos, along with corresponding activity sheets. The on-demand episodes follow a See Art, Create Art, Share Art model, encouraging viewers to share their projects to social media using the #ArtworksAnywhere hashtag. The YouTube channel has had nearly 10,000 views since its’ launch at the start of the pandemic in April 2020. The new Artworks Anywhere website allows visitors to search for videos by art form, subject and more. 

The website also provides details on all Education & Community Engagement offerings. This includes Schooltime performances, which will be held virtually for the 2020-2021 season. Black Violin will stream from January 6-February 17, 2021 and Pete the Cat will stream from March 1-14, 2021, in addition to the previously announced schooltime performances of Anne of Green Gables (streaming through June 30, 2021), Chicken Dance (streaming through June 30, 2021) and Charlotte’s Web (streamed December 2020). More Schooltime performances will be posted on the website as they become available. 

The site will provide information on professional development opportunities for educators, including details on how to bring teaching artists to classrooms for live Zoom sessions. This includes upcoming workshops such as the FAM (Feelings Addressed Mindfully) Project. Current Zoom-based classroom visits are available for Pre-K through Grade 12 in the areas of movement, drama and visual arts. Downloadable activity sheets exploring science, history, math and social emotional learning are currently available for teachers and parents, as well as lesson plans for educators. 

Through the site, visitors may also sign up for the Van Wezel’s Education & Community Engagement e-mail list to receive updates and special offers. 

This announcement follows the news of the Hall’s partnerships with Kennedy Center Artist Olmeca and FAM Teaching Artists, as the theater and Foundation strive to remain connected to students, educators and families in the community during a time when access to arts education is needed most.  

These experiences and resources are provided free of cost to the community thanks to the generous donors of the Van Wezel Foundation. To support arts education and integration, please visit www.vwfoundation.org.