A+ Schools Host 20th Anniversary Conference in North Carolina
Earlier this week, our Louisiana A+ Schools team headed to North Carolina to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of A+ Schools. North Carolina began its A+ program in 1995, and since then, the national network of A+ Schools has grown to include four states and over 150 schools.
The three-day conference celebrated the importance of arts in education and featured keynote speakers and sessions by industry leaders. To learn more about the National A+ Schools Consortium, visit nationalaplusschools.org.
(Top left) The LAA+ Schools team attended the anniversary conference in North Carolina. Pictured: Deputy Director Kim Graham, Professional Development Manager Kathleen O'Shaughnessy, GRFA Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue, Director Bethany France. (Bottom left) John Brown of the Windgate Foundation, Vincent Marron ("The Godfather" of A+ Schools), and Jacques Rodrigue. (Right) LAA+ Director Bethany France addresses attendees.
Week Two of the 2015 LAA+ Summer Institutes
Last week, GRFA hosted our second week of the Louisiana A+ Schools Summer Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Entire faculties from seven LAA+ schools attended a week of engaging professional development in arts integration in the classroom. Click here to read The Advertiser's coverage of our Summer Institute.
Click here to view photos from Week 1 of our 2015 Summer Institutes.
Get ready to don your favorite white outfit, because this Saturday is the annual Whitney White Linen Night in New Orleans! From 6:00 - 9:00 PM, thousands of art enthusiasts will descend upon the Warehouse Arts District to enjoy galleries, refreshments, and live entertainment. Centered on the 300 to 600 blocks of Julia Street, this free event has helped New Orleans acquire its "SoHo of the South" reputation.
This year, we are happy to be participating again! The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be open at 747 Magazine Street, just a block off of Julia Street. Come by to see amazing student art, as well as original works of art by George Rodrigue.
From 6:00 - 7:00 PM, Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue will be signing copies of Rodrigue: The Sanders Collection, a recent publication he co-authored with Houston businessman and philanthropist Don Sanders.
We will also have copies of The Pot & The Palette Cookbook for sale. This publication, produced in partnership with the Louisiana Restaurant Association, is illustrated by Louisiana students and features 100 recipes from the state's greatest chefs.
For White Linen Night, we are offering the Cookbook at the special price of $20.00!
Grab your white linen ensemble and be sure to visit us at 747 Magazine Street. We look forward to seeing you at Whitney White Linen Night!
Our Louisiana A+ Schools program has nearly doubled in 2015 to include a network of 17 schools across the state. To accommodate our growing number of LAA+ educators, we divided our annual Summer Institute into two one-week sessions, with our first group attending last week at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
So what happens at the Summer Institute? The entire faculty from each school participates in an engaging week of professional development, where they acquire the skills and confidence to incorporate the arts into every subject in every classroom. The teachers attended sessions led by LAA+ Fellows, who are experts in arts integration, and explored the practical application of visual art, dance, music, and theatre in their curricula.
LAA+ Fellows from week one of the Summer Institute
On Monday, our second 2015 LAA+ Summer Institute kicks off in Lafayette.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be in Houston this Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm for our final Community Art Day! We invite you to join us at the Rodrigue: Houston exhibition for a day of creative activities for the whole family. Make your own Blue Dog mask, color your own Blue Dog, have your face painted, and enjoy original works of art by artist George Rodrigue. This event is free and open to the public!
**The exhibition will be on view through July 19th.
Click here to view a photo album from our last Community Art Day in Houston.
Saturday's events will also feature a special book signing from 1:00-3:00 pm for the recently published Rodrigue: The Sanders Collection. Co-authors Jacques Rodrigue and Houston businessman, philanthropist, and Rodrigue collector Don Sanderswill be signing copies of the book, which features over 70 never-published Rodrigue works from Sanders' private collection.
Can't make it to the book signing in Houston? Purchase your copy of Rodrigue: The Sanders Collectionhere.
Since opening on April 25th, "Rodrigue: Houston" has introduced the art of George Rodrigue to thousands of community members. Throughout the run of this retrospective exhibition, the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts has been proud to provide engaging education outreach to families and students in the area.
5,000
Over 5,000 people have visited "Rodrigue: Houston" to see George Rodrigue's original works of art, including his dark Louisiana landscapes, Cajun genre scenes, and iconic Blue Dog paintings.
By the end of the exhibition, GRFA will have hosted 4 Community Art Days. These FREE Saturday events are a great way for Houston families to experience the art of George Rodrigue and participate in fun Blue Dog art activities.
Our final Community Art Day is Saturday,
July 18, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
1 "Rodrigue: Houston" will only be up for one more week! We invite you and your family to experience this special retrospective that spans George Rodrigue's 40-year career. Thank you to our supporters in the Houston community for helping us share Rodrigue's legacy with so many friends, students, and families!
"Rodrigue: Houston" Extended to July 19, Final Community Art Day is July 18
Nearly 5,00 people, including 800 students, have visited "Rodrigue: Houston" since its opening on April 25th. The Rodrigue family is grateful to the Houston community for their enthusiasm and interest and will be extending the exhibition (originally closing July 5th) an additional two weeks to July 19th.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be hosting a final Community Art Day in Houston on Saturday, July 18th. We hope you and your family will be able to join us for a fun day of free Blue Dog art activities, face painting, and more!
Click here to view photos from previous Community Art Days in Houston.
Louisiana A+ Schools Welcomes New Professional Development Director
George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts is thrilled to announce that Kathleen O'Shaughnessy is our new Professional Development Director for Louisiana A+ Schools! In this role she will manage direct support to our statewide network of Pre K-12 schools in all areas of arts integration, including training, coaching, curriculum development, and assessment.
With over 29 years of experience in schools, O'Shaughnessy has taught in every grade from first through eighth, in public and private schools, but she found her calling in middle school reading and writing, and has worked in that capacity for over 20 years. She is passionate about teaching and learning with other educators.
She has taught as an adjunct in the College of Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette and has led many summer institutes for their National Writing Project. She served as Curriculum Coordinator and Dean of Faculty at Episcopal School in Acadiana, and most recently was Head of School at Epiphany Day School.
O'Shaughnessy identifies as a "teacher nerd" and admits to being an obsessive reader and sharer of professional literature and teacher ideas. For the past two years, as principal at Epiphany Day School, she has seen firsthand what a powerful and positive effect the A+ Essentials can have on a school and is excited to promote and nurture those positive effects through the Louisiana A+ Schools network.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be in Houston this Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm for a Community Art Day! We invite you to join us at the Rodrigue: Houston exhibition for a day of creative activities for the whole family. Make your own Blue Dog mask, color your own Blue Dog, have your face painted, and enjoy original works of art by artist George Rodrigue. This event is free and open to the public!
Our friends from Pinkberry will be serving complimentary cool treats from 1:00 - 3:00 pm!
Saturday's events will also feature a special book signing from 1:00-3:00 pm for the recently published Rodrigue: The Sanders Collection. Co-authors Jacques Rodrigue and Houston businessman, philanthropist, and Rodrigue collector Don Sanders will be signing copies of the book, which features over 70 never-published Rodrigue works from Sanders' private collection.
Also available for the first time is a special limited edition of 100 books signed by foreword author and baseball pitching legend Nolan Ryan. This edition will be available for $250 and for sale only at Rodrigue: Houston beginning Saturday, June 13th. All proceeds from this edition support the art education initiatives of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.
Can't make it to the book signing in Houston? Purchase your copy of Rodrigue: The Sanders Collectionhere.
Join Jaques Rodrigue, Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, as he explains his father's artwork on display at Rodrigue: Houston. Jacques will trace George Rodrigue's history including his early days in New Iberia, LA, art school in California, early career painting Louisiana landscapes and Cajuns, the origin of Blue Dog, and the formation of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.
About the Speaker
Jacques Rodrigue graduated from Louisiana State University in General Business Administration and later received his law degree from Tulane Law School in 2007. He currently lives in New Orleans, where he serves as House Counsel for Rodrigue Studios, his late father's art gallery. As Executive Director of GRFA, he publicly advocates for an arts-integrated education system, oversees the Foundation's Annual Scholarship Art Contest, and directs the Louisiana A+ Schools (LAA+) program. LAA+ trains teachers how to teach using the arts in every classroom and every subject. Jacques is also a member of the Louisiana State Arts Council and is the 2013 winner of Louisiana's Arts Education Award and the 2015 National Arts Educators Association Award for Distinguished Service Outside the Profession.
Watch Jacques' TEDx Talk below to learn more about the history of artist George Rodrigue and the formation of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.
Since the opening of Rodrigue: Houston in April, the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts has brought exciting Education Outreach opportunities to hundreds of students in the Houston community.
Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue receives a special thank you card from students at Field Elementary for their custom art supply kit. Click here to view photos from Jacques' visit to Field Elementary.
We are excited to announce that twenty-five Houston schools were awarded $1,000 custom art supply kits through our George's Art Closet program, which provides free supplies to art teachers and schools whose funding does not otherwise allow for the expense. Houston schools that were awarded custom art kits through George's Art Closet include:
Sorters Mill Elementary
Johnston Middle School Marshall Middle School
Sheldon Elementary Lee High School
Crespo Elementary School Waltrip High School
Tijerina Elementary School Cesar Chavez High School
Early East College High School Field Elementary
Fleming Middle School Ernest McGowen Elementary
Crockett Elementary School Burnet Elementary School
Anderson Elementary Roosevelt Elementary School
Jeff Davis High School Barbara Jordan High School for Careers
Eastwood Academy Pleasantville Elementary School
Parker Elementary Whittier Elementary
Jefferson Elementary School Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion Magnet School
By July, we will have hosted 50 separate groups of students at the Rodrigue: Houston exhibition at West Ave. at River Oaks. Each of these groups receives an educational tour of the gallery and then participates in an art making activity.
Click here to view a photo album from our Houston Education Outreach.
The Aioli Dinner Supper Club had a delicious time in Monroe, LA! Last week over 35 guests joined the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts at the home of Randy and Cherry Morris, who are not only Rodrigue collectors, but also enthusiastic supporters of the arts in education. We are delighted to share that this event raised over $40,000 for our Louisiana A+ Schools program, which just announced the addition of eight new schools in our statewide network.
Click here to view a photo album for the Monroe Aioli Dinner Supper Club event.
With the expansion of the Louisiana A+ Schools program, the Aioli Dinner Supper Club is playing a crucial role in the number teachers and students impacted by arts integration in the classroom. Thank you to our friends in Monroe for supporting arts in education through the Aioli Dinner Supper Club!
Join the next Aioli Dinner Supper Club dining experience!
Yesterday the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts and Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne announced the expansion of the Louisiana A+ Schools network to eight new schools across the state for the 2015/2016 academic year. The announcement took place at a student performance at The Dufrocq School in Baton Rouge, one of nine current LAA+ schools.
Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue and Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne are joined by students at The Dufrocq School to announce eight new LAA+ Schools.
"These schools have been chosen through a competitive application process by demonstrating their commitment to innovative learning and the importance of the arts in every classroom," says Jacques Rodrigue. "They join a network of 9 schools across the state of Louisiana and over 130 schools nationwide that are focused on whole school research-based transformation through the arts."
LAA+ Schools, the first whole school arts-integrated reform initiative of its kind to enter Louisiana, is a network that provides teachers with the essentials to think more creatively about how students can apply learning in the real world, and how they can present curricula to students in ways they learn best.
"Arts education yields comprehensive benefits to students and we need to do all we can to ensure its inclusion in our schools curricula," says Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne. "We wish the selected schools the best in shaping our students' creative minds."
Click the map above to learn more about all 17 member schools in the LAA+ network.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be in Houston this Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm for another Community Art Day! Join us at the new exhibition Rodrigue: Houstonfor creative activities for the whole family. Make your own Blue Dog mask, color your own Blue Dog, have your face painted, and enjoy original works of art by artist George Rodrigue.
Houston Community Art Day
Rodrigue: Houston
West Ave. at River Oaks
2800 Kirby Drive, at the corner of Kirby and Westheimer, 2nd Floor
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
This event is free and open to the public!
Mark your calendars! Additional Houston Community Art Days are JUNE 13th and JULY 4th.
(Top) Actress Alfre Woodard strikes a pose with cheerleaders at St. Helena Arts & Technology Academy. (Bottom) Irvin Mayfield performs for students.
Actress Alfre Woodard and musician Irvin Mayfield, both Turnaround Artists, visited St. Helena Academy of Arts and Technology in Greensburg and Homer Elementary School in Homer, LA, to encourage students to pursue their academic goals. They had the opportunity to see some of the amazing creative projects the students have been working on, including theatrical performances and visual art installations.
Click the above photo to watch Jacques Rodrigue and Alfre Woodard discuss the importance of arts education on WWLTV.
While in New Orleans, Alfre Woodard joined Executive Director Jacques Rodrigue on WWLTV to discuss how GRFA and Turnaround Arts are impacting schools through the arts. After filming, Alfre and Jacques headed to Homer A. Plessy Community School where students were eager to greet their celebrity mentor.
Students welcome Alfre Woodard for her second visit to Homer A. Plessy Community School in New Orleans.
Thank you to our amazing Turnaround Artists for inspiring Louisiana students!
The Aioli Dinner Supper Club is pleased to announce that the next dining experience will be May 14, 2015, in Monroe, Louisiana, under the oaks at the fabulous home of Randy and Cherry Morris. Mr. and Mrs. Morris are not only Rodrigue collectors, but also enthusiastic supporters of the arts. They have graciously opened their home for one night to celebrate the arts with a dinner inspired by one of George Rodrigue's most famous paintings, The Aioli Dinner.
Join us for a four-course dinner with wine pairings prepared by Chef Eric Johnson, along with live Cajun music by The Vermillionairs, and live and silent auctions featuring rare Blue Dog items by George Rodrigue.
Proceeds from your ticket benefit Louisiana A+ Schools, a program of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.
Click here to read more about the "Friends of George Rodrigue" Champagne party and see the photo album.
Community Art Day and Grand Opening
Saturday, April 25th, was the grand opening for Rodrigue: Houston! GRFA provided family-friendly art activities including Blue Dog masks, coloring sheets, and face painting. Upcoming Community Art Days are May 16, June 13, and July 4. We hope to see you there!
Community Art Days are a great way for families to explore the exhibition.
Free Field Trips for Houston Schools
To coincide with the new exhibition, GRFA is providing free field trips to over 20 local schools to visit Rodrigue: Houston. Students have already begun visiting the show to see firsthand original works from George Rodrigue's career and to participate in art activities that encourage observation skills, storytelling, and the principles of visual art.
Students learn about the career of George Rodrigue and make their own works of art.
At a special luncheon in New Orleans, these talented juniors and seniors accepted their scholarships, had their original artwork on display, and were treated to special presentation by author Wendy Rodrigue.
Congratulations to our 2015 Art Contest Finalists!
The 15 scholarship winners with Jacques Rodrigue at the Art Contest Luncheon in New Orleans.
Sterling Anderson, our 1st place senior, was awarded a $6,000 scholarship.
Skyla Blady placed first for the juniors. Her painting will be featured in posters for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundations' upcoming free music festivals.
Click here to view a complete list of the scholarship winners in the 2015 Art Contest.
What is the Chevron STEAM Zone? It's a place where families can participate in hands-on projects that bring together science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.
GRFA will be providing free creative projects on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12, at the Natchez Wharf. We hope to see you at the 2015 French Quarter Festival!
NAEA Honors Jacques Rodrigue at National Convention
The National Art Education Association (NAEA) presented Jacques Rodrigue, Executive Director of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, with the 2015 Distinguished Service Outside the Profession Award. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievement by individuals outside the field of art education and was presented during the NAEA National Convention in New Orleans last week.
(From left to right) Denise Tullier-Holly, President of Louisiana Art Education Association; Dennis Inhulsen, President of the National Art Education Association; Jacques Rodrigue and Mallory Page Rodrigue
NAEA President Dennis Inhulsen stated, "Jacques Rodrigue exemplifies the highly qualified art educators active in education today: leaders, teachers, students, scholars, and advocates who give their best to their students and the profession."
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts will be heading to Houston from April 25 - July 5, 2015, to coincide with Rodrigue: Houston, a new exhibition featuring the Blue Dogs, Louisiana landscapes, and Cajun paintings of George Rodrigue.
The George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) advocates the importance of the visual arts in the development of our youth.GRFA encourages the use of art within all curriculums and supports a variety of art educational programs.
