Creative Strategy
ART APART
THE PROBLEM
KID smART is a New Orleans-based arts education organization that serves 12+ schools and 3,500+ students each year. I built and managed their communications department for 7.5 years.
When schools shut down in March 2020, the KID smART team had no idea what our in-school programs would look like in a newly virtual landscape. Our target audiences - classroom teachers and local parents/guardians - were struggling to adjust but didn’t know exactly what they needed from our organization.
THE SOLUTION
Art Apart is an educational video series exploring music, movement, creative writing, performance, visual art, social-emotional learning, and read-alouds led by 14 professional teaching artists.
It launched one week after classroom education went virtual.
MY ROLE
Creative Strategy
User Research
Production Training
Content Curation
Branding
Marketing / Advertising
USER RESEARCH
Educator Pain Points:
Managing a virtual classroom of K-8th graders had a steep learning curve. Teachers weren’t interested in introducing teaching artists to their synchronous learning sessions until they had a better handle on structure and protocols.
Teachers were not given training or tools for teaching in a virtual environment.
Students were less engaged in a virtual setting.
Parent Pain Points:
Students learning from home still needed adult supervision, which often fell to parents or guardians. This became a much more complex issue for parents who were deemed essential workers.
Families lost access to afterschool activities, leading to additional stress when students finished their classes hours before their work-from-home parents wrapped up.
Organization Pain Points:
March is generally when school contracts are renewed. KID smART had a strong track record of adding new school partners every year, so retaining current schools was essential to the organization’s growth strategy. To do this, KID smART needed to prove value, even (or especially) during chaotic situations.
Without knowing whether schools would renew contracts, KID smART was considering all budgetary options, including furloughing staff and Teaching Artists.
APPROACH
Based on teacher, parent, and organizational needs, I developed the concept for an educational video series that can be shown in virtual classrooms and easily accessed at home. I was able to present my content and brand strategy and get stakeholder approval within a few days of schools shutting down.
Knowing that over half of our teaching artists did not have video production experience, I created a manual that featured tips and tricks to demystify the process and build confidence. This manual also ensured video quality and compliance with YouTube’s policies.
The series launched exactly one week into virtual learning in New Orleans. New videos were added every weekday morning on KID smART’s YouTube channel, artist blog, and Facebook page.
RESULTS
90+ videos exploring music, movement, creative writing, performance, visual art, social-emotional learning, and read-alouds led by 14 professional teaching artists.
Zero staff furloughed as a result of the work provided by Art Apart.
A YouTube channel launch with an audience that spanned 12 countries.
100% partner school retention despite the ongoing pandemic.
Monthly virtual Art Apart workshops to allow for synchronous student+artist collaboration.
Dozens of letters of appreciation from local parents, students, and teachers.
Two virtual art series spin-offs in the following months: Festin’ with Food and Krewe of You.
Stakeholder Feedback:
“ART APART was brilliantly and beautifully executed. Fast pivot and a highly visible, valued resource.”
-KID smART Executive Director
“When you have teachers that are learning new ways to meet the needs of students and students who are having fun while learning, you have higher achievement and higher understanding. Which ultimately leads to success.”
-Classroom Teacher
“I always had trouble in front of cameras. I am a visual artist who teaches hands-on and in-person… until now. There was a sense of dread and excitement leading up to my first virtual class. But when I saw a group of students all joined together to make art after school with me, everything flooded back. I was prepared. This was in my wheelhouse with the experience, the trainings, the professional development, my coworker’s unrelenting support, and above all the smiling faces of students ready to create. My love of art and educating flooded my heart.”
-KID smART Teaching Artist
