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About This Website
From the
dawn of time, humans have known that the arts have an incredible
power to heal both body and spirit
Now, in
this age of internet communications, we invite you to use this resource
to investigate the power of the arts as a force for positive change in our
lives and in our community.
This
website was created for The Colorado Council on the Arts, with funding from
The National Endowment for the Arts, as a gift to the world community.
This
site was originally created in the aftermath of the Columbine High School
tragedy, it became clear that powerful healing forces were needed
in our communities. Of course in the aftermath of the events of September 11,
2001 it became even more clear that we need to strive, as artists, to use our
talent and creativity to help in the healing process.
We are
also reminded that the arts are central to what it means to be human.
The arts can be a powerful force for healing, but they can also be a force for
building communities; for nurturing human creativity, and well-being. With
this in mind, this web resource is dedicated not only to the healing power of
the arts, but to providing access to the arts for diverse populations that all
humans may be empowered by the arts to be able to realize their full positive
potential.
While
the many resources presented here are available online individually,
we found that there was no comprehensive, organized, index to such resources.
We hope that you find the resources on these pages to be of value.
Frequently Asked Questions
About The Healing Power of
the Arts Website
Why was this website Created?
While we all know intuitively that the arts can be a
powerful force in the healing of minds, bodies, and communities, it has been
difficult for citizens to easily find information about resources available to
help them use the arts in this healing process. It has also been increasingly
difficult for individuals to find quality information on the web through
traditional search engines. While many citizen arts advocates have heard of
the many ways in which the arts improve the lives of individuals and
communities, it has also been difficult for these citizen/advocates to find
the actual research to bolster their arguments for strengthened support of the
arts and arts education community.
While leaders in the arts community had lamented the
lack of a one-stop online venue for such information, the tragedy in April,
1999 at Littleton, Colorado's Columbine High School, forced the issue. The
citizens of the Littleton and surrounding Denver metro area were in great
pain. Many sectors of the community from the religious to the education
community have worked tirelessly to become ever more, a force for healing and
positive change. The arts community too was determined to redouble its role of
leadership in the community.
More than ever, the arts community searched for the
tools to do so more effectively. The idea was born to provide an online
tool-kit of examples of programs around the world dedicated to heal
individuals and communities through the arts.
Realizing that the nation and the world at large,
could benefit from such a collection of resources, The National Endowment for
the Arts and The Colorado Council on the Arts worked with other members of the
arts community to develop this web resource.
How are the contents organized?
From the Contents page, site users can select from a
number of major topics arranged first by issue, and then by arts discipline.
With each topic listing, users will find a list of sub-topics.
On each individual page then, a myriad of web
resources and links are offered. Each website listing includes a short
description of the site content.
The left side of each page includes a page menu
showing that page's sub-topics. From here you can also return to the contents
page or visit the pages of the site sponsors.
While many links are cross-referenced, it is hoped
that explorers to this site will explore multiple pages, better allowing for
the finding of the best resources.
The web pages are kept as simple in design as
possible for easy and speedy access. Graphic elements are kept to a minimum
and the pages include no elaborate web coding to bog page loading down.
Who does this website serve?
- Community leaders
- can learn about the many ways in which the arts can and have helped to
build and to heal communities. They can learn about research into the role
of the arts in building and rehabilitating communities. Leaders can learn
about the economic impact of the arts on building communities. The website
also provides a great way to learn about programs that have succeeded in
turning other communities and individuals around. Perhaps one or more of
these programs could serve as a model in your own community. These links
also then provide a network of expertise world-wide, available to advise
leaders in local communities.
- Teachers - Can
learn about a plethora of resources available to help them in educating
troubled students. Teachers can also learn about the many studies available
online, dealing with the arts as a positive force in developing self esteem,
study skills, and job skills in students.
- Parents - can
learn about the many ways that the arts have been used to help build
leadership skills in children, or to help those children at-risk learn the
skills necessary to survive, and thrive.
- Artists - can
learn how other artists have learned to use their talents in support of
their communities. They can also learn about funding opportunities for
projects in the community. Finally, artists themselves, are often in need of
healing. These pages provide many resource links for artists with
disabilities, medical problems, mental health problems, etc.
- Those with disabilities
- can learn more about the wealth of resources available to help those with
disabilities participate in or benefit from the arts. In a number of
specific area, this website provides the most comprehensive guide to what
resources are available.
- Those in disadvantaged or at-risk communities
- will find examples of programs from around the world that have had great
success in providing positive, nurturing, environments in which those
at-risk have turned their lives around.
How are link resources selected, annotated, and rated?
Over 600 keyword/search engine searches were
conducted in addition to examining the listings already available at the most
comprehensive meta-sites already developed. From these searches, over 1200
sites were examined. All of the links profiled on our pages were personally
examined by the site editor (see below) and deemed to be of particular value
to the communities served by this website. All links were working as of the
site debut date.
Since so very many web resources of value were
located during the elaborate search process, we wanted to make certain that
readers had a way to further discriminate between the sites.
Listings themselves tend to be in alphabetical order.
ALL sites listed are deemed to be valuable resources, however sites of
particular excellence are rated with multiples of the smiley-face icon.
Factors in the decision to single out these sites include:
- The amount of resources available from the site
- The degree of organization of the site
- The inclusion of online galleries for those sites
dealing with the visual arts
- Sites that include a library of links to other
sites
- Sites that clearly identify themselves and the
populations that they serve
- Leading "master" sites, clearly serving
a leadership function beyond the specific community directly served.
There is a degree of subjectivity in this process as
there is in all such evaluative enterprises, but most should find the websites
with the star icons to be of special value. Readers should find those with
three stars to be of very high quality and value. In only two or three cases,
a rating of 4 has been assigned. These sites should simply astound the viewer
with the breadth and quality of content in the specific area.
Annotation of the listings uses, where possible,
edited text from the website itself. Acronyms are expanded where
possible, and geographic locations of the sponsoring organizations are
indicated too, when possible. Often a short evaluative statement has been
included as well.
Who created this website?
This website was created for the Colorado Council on
the Arts, Fran Holden - Executive Director, with funding from The
National Endowment for the Arts. The site is hosted by Artslynx on server
space provided by The University of Colorado, Denver - College of Arts and
Media, Mark Allen Heckler, Dean. Site Research and design has been provided by
Richard Finkelstein.
Who did the research and what are their qualifications?
Richard Finkelstein serves as Head of Design at The
University of Colorado, Denver - College of Arts and Media, Department of
Theatre, Film, and Video Production. His work in theatre has been seen in
Russia, Canada, Italy, Israel, Jordan, as well as Off-Broadway and at The
Kennedy Center, where he worked on the inauguration of The Imagination
Celebration in 1979. He was a founding member of The New York State Theatre
Institute, an organization which pioneered the integration of professional
performance into the k-12 education world. He has continued his work with
NYSTI for over 24 years.
Professor Finkelstein has also served as a board
member and officer of The Colorado Arts Consortium, Colorado's statewide
assembly of local arts councils. He has also served on the management or
advisory boards of: The Boulder Ballet, The Denver Center Theatre Company, The
Colorado Dance Alliance, and the Rocky Mountain region of The United States
Institute for Theatre Technology. Professor Finkelstein has worked in a
variety of arts disciplines from Opera, Ballet, and Drama, to the development
of new musical theatre productions. He has also exhibited extensively as a
photographer.
As an educator, Professor Finkelstein has taught at
all levels and has worked with at-risk students. In 1999, for instance, he was
a founding teacher in Denver's Arts-Street youth arts employment program.
Professor Finkelstein was a pioneer in the use of the
internet in service to the arts. He published the first online journal of
theatre, Theatre.Perspectives.International and has since developed scores of
international websites including those for: Artslynx International Arts
Resources, and The USA International Ballet Competition. Artslynx Colorado
includes links to over five hundred cultural institutions in the state of
Colorado, perhaps the most comprehensive such statewide link library anywhere.
Other internet-based resources Professor Finkelstein has created include
"Arts on the Line", and "Arts-Alert-USA"
Can you include a link to MY
website?
Links are added only at the discretion of the editor
who is very discriminating! Link preference is given to institutions, to
master sites, and to pages which are informative and well organized. Feel free
to make a nomination, but actual
listing is not assured.
Can I link to your website?
By all means! The idea is to make this information
accessible to as many artists, community leaders, and citizens as possible, so
link away! You may link to the home page at http://www.artslynx.org/heal/
but feel free to link to specific issue and/or discipline pages as your needs
require. If you review this web resource, it would be helpful (and
appreciated) if you could send a copy (or web-address) to the webmaster
What's left to do? What are the
future plans for website?
While many areas are quite comprehensive at the
site's debut, other areas will be bolstered to match in the near future. Links
will be added as they are discovered and links no longer active will be
removed as they are discovered as well.
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