Creative Sonoma Residencies Support Students in Fire Recovery

Creative Sonoma is offering free teaching artist residencies to Sonoma County schools who have students and/or staff affected by the fires - directly or indirectly. Provided at no cost to public schools in all grades, these residencies use the talents and training of a dynamic group of teaching artists, crafting an experience tailored to each situation. Thirteen of these residencies have been completed so far at schools and Boys and Girls Clubs. And thirty-six more are scheduled for this fall. 

“These art residencies have the ability to help our youngest, and often most vulnerable, fire survivors find a way to make peace with their experience,” said Chair of the Board of Supervisors James Gore. “Being able to express their feelings through art is a solid step toward understanding and acceptance.”

Residencies are still available in visual art, music, drama, movement, and the literary arts. Teaching artists and school staff plan together to create the most effective experience possible. Artists engage with the same group of students for up to six hours of instruction, allowing ideas, discussions, and trust to fully develop in processing last fall’s fires. Residencies will be completed by the end of October 2018. 

The funds for these residencies are available thanks to the generosity of Redwood Credit Union Community Fund, the Hewlett Foundation, and individual donors to Creative Sonoma. Creative Sonoma is dedicated to advancing and supporting the creative community of Sonoma County.

For more information on the residencies or to schedule an interview with a teaching artist or school site, please call Debbie Yarrow at 707-565-6123, email Debbie.Yarrow@sonoma-county.org  or visit https://www.creativesonoma.org/arts-education/atr/

Creative Sonoma, a division of the Economic Development Board, supports and advances the creative community of Sonoma County.