Ovation TV has announced the launch of a national arts education initiative.

 

The company developed arts-related curriculum units and companion programs for educators through a partnership with Cable in the Classroom and the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Arts and Special Projects.

Ovation TV made the announcement at an event for New York City teachers held at the New York Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. This new initiative is the result of a year-long collaboration between Ovation TV, the NYC Department of Education and high school visual arts teachers and their students.

The network also partnered with Columbia Business School Executive MBA students to develop a relevant, digital arts education platform and marketing plan. The new curriculum units and companion programs are now available through a newly created education portal.

Ovation TV is the first network to produce and air a PSA addressing Cable in the Classroom’s mission of fostering the use of cable content and technology to enhance teaching and learning.

“Advocating the importance of the arts in the education of our youth is a critical part of Ovation TV’s mission,”  said Charles Segars, CEO, Ovation TV, in a statement. “ This new arts education program not only represents a key element of our ongoing commitment, but also complements Cable in the Classroom’s expanded broadband initiative by being digitally accessible to educators.”  

To develop its curriculum units, Ovation TV enlisted NYC-area art teachers to develop the lessons and select programming clips from Ovation TV documentaries. Initial developmental focus was on the works of Jackson Pollock, Daniel Libeskind and Robert Rauschenberg.

When the curriculum was introduced to visual arts students from high schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, teachers found that they learned to create and paint in the exact style and with the very techniques used by American masters. This project and its outcome are expected to serve as the cornerstone of Ovation TV’s free web-based education initiative.  

“Ovation TV has found the best way to construct an education initiative -- from the ground up and with extensive collaboration with teachers,”  said Frank Gallagher, senior director of education and media literacy, Cable in the Classroom. “It’s rare when a programming network goes to such lengths to produce resources that so perfectly align with the needs of educators.”  

In addition to this curriculum outlet, Ovation TV also provides a unique online art community for teachers and students to engage in discussions surrounding art in America, view the creations of others and share their own work.

“We are delighted with the results of the collaboration with Ovation TV,” said Paul L. King, executive director of the New York City Department of Education, Office of the Arts and Special Projects. “It is highly unusual when a programming network embraces the needs of arts teachers and students to this extent. The quality of the programs and the effectiveness of the curriculum units will make this initiative very valuable to arts teachers throughout New York City high schools and across the nation.”  

In other Ovation TV news, the company announced last fall the premiere of a new original TV special about fashion’s most influential and ubiquitous fashion items called “Anatomy of a Closet.”