Giving Compass' Take:

• Jane Cheung at Americans for the Arts interviewed Anna Lisa Caraveo Flores, Director of Pablove Shutterbugs, a program that approaches childhood cancer through art and science.

• What are the main challenges for leaders in arts education, and what is being done to address them? How are foundations playing a role in elevating and leveraging the arts for social good? 

• Read more about why we need to find ways to connect students with the arts. 

I often get questions from up and coming leaders about what it takes to “break in” to the arts education field. I can relate—I love the career path that I’ve taken and yes, arts education can feel like a specific field that no one really envisions themselves doing from a young age. I fell into the profession with no set path but a vision of wanting to do good and contribute to a more just and equitable society.

While I have a background in multicultural education, and was able to eventually blend my academic training and my interest in visual arts to impact communities that do not have access to formal and experiential programs in the arts, for many like myself the path is far from being clear cut. What’s more, the arts landscape has changed dramatically in just the last few years alone.

To bridge that gap and to offer readers a recent example of a person who has transitioned into informal arts education, I had the opportunity to interview my colleague Anna Lisa Caraveo Flores, Director of Pablove Shutterbugs, about her journey by way of The Pablove Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that approaches childhood cancer through art and science.

What did learning look like for you as you transitioned into arts education?

Learning for me was and still is all about listening and immersing myself into the work we are doing as much as possible. I took the first couple months to listen and learn from what was already in place so that I could understand the strengths and contexts surrounding our program. Essentially, how things were done, why past decisions had been made, and what the current needs and priorities of our program were.

Read the full article about breaking into the field of arts education by Jane Cheung at Americans for the Arts.