Illinois Art Station is guided by the knowledge that when children and youth engage with art, they learn about themselves, the world around them, and are empowered to use their voice through creation. Art programs help them become more engaged citizens and develop critical skills they need to excel, including critical observation, creative problem solving, and empathy.
From time to time, we like to share article round-ups that present the large volume of evidence supporting the plethora of benefits of art education. Here are a few recently published authoritative articles.
Frontiers in Psychology recently published Art and Psychological Well-Being: Linking the Brain to the Aesthetic Emotion, which highlights the transformative power of art education and references many studies that demonstrate how the visual arts stimulates art education, academic and professional achievement, and psychological well-being.
Also this Spring, The New York Times featured a wonderful article that emphasizes specifically how arts in education settings extends to the entire educational experience and academic abilities, including creativity and memory, to name a few. We invite you to read the entire article linked to below.
“Arts education… is a chance to build resilience and determination in children, as well as to help them master complex skills.”
Paul T. Sowden, professor of psychology at the University of Winchester in England
We praise the art education community, journalists and researchers for continued efforts to raise awareness of art’s efficacy in education and child development so that critical art education programs continue to exist and flourish.