ArtsPass

Art4All, Ltd.

Most of us do a very limited job of exposing our children to the broad range of the arts—music, drama, painting, photography, dance, cartooning, film, etc. Most of us lack the knowledge or expertise to teach all these areas. Textbooks tend to focus on one or, perhaps, two of these areas.

ArtsPass fills the void with exceptional content that will introduce your children to a broad spectrum of the arts. Subscriptions allow you unlimited access to all content on their website, including downloadable teacher guides. This is not complete coursework in any one topic, but mini-unit study type lessons on tightly focused topics. Topics are introduced with streaming video pieces that you view and listen to on your computer. These range from a few very short videos to some that are about an hour in length. One- or two-page teacher guides are available for some of the videos. New titles are being added to the site each month.

You might start with the three-minute introductory video “What is Art?” Then choose topics that either tie in to current studies or your child’s interest. For example, if you are studying the American Revolution, you might watch “Mark O’Connor – Music of the Revolutionary War.” He plays period pieces on the fiddle to a backdrop of artistic illustrations of that war in a video that runs about fourteen minutes. The teacher guide expands with additional activities and information you might use if you want to go further.

If the Great Depression is part of this year’s history, you might choose to view the eighteen-minute piece “Voices of the Dust.” Steven Andresen portrays various people as he reads their firsthand account of experiencing the devastation of dust storms and loss of homes and livelihood against a backdrop of historical photos and film. He ties in great literary works on this topic, Grapes of Wrath and Out of the Dust, as well as the autobiography of folksinger Woody Guthrie, Bound for Glory.

Samples of other topics:

“Art of Cartooning – Part 1 – Creating the Face” - a 25-minute video that actually teaches students how to draw faces

“BalletNY - ARTSPASS LIVE! Encore” – about one hour in length, this video includes both footage of performances and interviews with artistic directors

“Brueghel, Pieter (1525-1569)” – approximately ten minute video introducing students to this artist and his work from the Renaissance period

“Byzantium” – approximately 21-minute introduction to the history, culture, and art of the capital of the Byzantine empire at its zenith

“Cave Art” – ten minute video featuring two sites in France and one in Spain where ancient cave art has been discovered. It explores the techniques and skills involved in creation of the art, raising many questions about the artists themselves.

There is a 30-day free trial available on the website as well as a few videos and teacher guides that are accessible without any subscription at all.