HeadstART in ART

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We’re looking for a few good professional teaching artists for our Head StART in ART residencies

We’re always looking for visual and performing artists to fill residencies for Head StART in ART. The program provides children from low-income families with opportunities to explore the arts and their own creativity under the guidance of a professional artist. Residencies take place for periods of three to six weeks during the school year. Through this valuable program, you can help a child build social and cognitive skills, encourage exploration, build self-confidence and instill a love of discovery and learning that will last a lifetime.

Discover how rewarding it can be to bring kids an in-depth, hands-on artistic experience they might never have otherwise enjoyed. Participation in a program like this during the formative years can have a significant impact on a child’s future appreciation of and involvement in the arts and helps advance language and learning skills for preschoolers.

Artists seeking a residency must have experience working with children. Experience with pre-K is preferred.

We are currently accepting residency applications for the 2023-24 school year.

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How It Works

Residencies take place at the Ellicott City Head Start Center or the Tubman Head Start Center in Columbia. The performing artist residency will conclude with performances by the Head Start children. The visual artist residency ends with the completion of an art project for display at their Head Start Center or individual projects for students to take home.

Program Background

In FY2000, the Howard County Arts Council developed a partnership with the Ellicott City Head Start Center to establish an artist in residence program for children, ages 3-5, who are enrolled in Head Start. This partnership, Head StART in ART, provides the children with an in-depth, hands-on artistic experience they might otherwise not have and ensures them access to the arts. Many are introduced to the arts for the first time and experience the joy and wonder that artistic expression can awaken. The opportunity for such an experience during these formative years can have a key impact on the children’s future appreciation of and involvement in the arts.

The federally funded Head Start Program has been helping low-income families and pre-school children across the country since 1965. The mission of the Ellicott City Head Start Program is to bring together like-minded individuals who are capable of creating an integrated, comprehensive organization with systems that support positive child and family development in Howard County. They offer pre-school programs for 3, 4, and 5 year-old children from low-income families to provide them with a stimulating and educational experience in a group setting. This worthwhile program gives these children a “head start” towards a successful future.

Program Description

The goal of the Head StART in ART program is to engage young children in developmentally appropriate hands-on arts activities that are designed to support early childhood curriculum and develop core life, social and learning skills. The program will include 6-8 artists of different disciplines, offering a wide variety of new experiences for the children. Recently the Head StART in ART program has expanded; artists may be booked at either the Ellicott City Head Start Center or the Tubman/Old Cedar Lane Head Start Center in Columbia.

HCAC coordinates, administers, and funds the project. HCAC begins by selecting an artist who is experienced in conducting school residency programs, particularly for young children, and then works closely with the artist and the Head Start staff to create a thematic program that is both enriching and developmentally appropriate. The children work with the artist and create something that they, and their parents and teachers, can be proud of.

Information

This information is subject to change at any time before or during the school year.

Classes: The exact number of students in the program is fluid with a maximum of 108 students. During the 2019-2020 school year, there were 6 classes at the Ellicott City Head Start Center, with a maximum of 18 students per class. The following numbers are presented to give performers an idea of group sizes. There are currently three mixed aged classroom with children ages 3-5 years and three Pre-K classroom with children 4-5 years old.

Hours: The Head Start program at the Ellicott City Center is currently a full-day program that begins at 9:15 AM and ends at 3:45 PM. They also offer before and after care everyday from 7am-9am and 3:45pm-6pm.

Flexibility: Individual classes may be combined, depending on enrollment totals for each classroom. Ideally, performance audiences would combine three Pre-K classes and the three mixed age classes.

Requirements

For the 2020-2021 school year, artists are required to provide a virtual option. Please outline how your residency can be held virtually in your proposal.
Selected artists must have experience working with children, pre-K experience preferred.
The residency will involve all the children (class by class) in the activities, not just a select group. The number of students may range from 50-120.
The residency will be geared toward pre-school age (3-5 year old) children.
The performing artist residency will conclude with performances by the Head Start children. The residency will not require an assembly by the performer.
The visual artist residency will conclude with a finished art project for display at the Head Start Center or for children to take home individually.