Artists in Schools (AiS)

● The training programme (workshops) for the arts practitioners consists of interrelated modules or topics focusing on personal and professional skills, project planning and implementation, arts and culture education theory and methodologies, interpretation, and implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), an amendment to the 2005 National Curriculum Statement, came into being in 2012. ● Creation of sustainable job opportunities for community arts practitioners who are unemployed but have been volunteering their skills with various schools in their immediate communities. For the first time in South Africa, the participating arts practitioners are being remunerated for the services rendered in the participating school. ● It is envisaged that the work of the AiS project all throughout the academic year with the educators and learners should culminate into a Regional or Provincial arts exhibition and concert. This event, resources allowing, should be taken through all the regions of the respective provinces. Budget allowing, the national AiS exhibition will take place at a central venue to be identified by the key role players. The purpose of this endeavour will be to expose the disadvantaged communities to the arts, particularly exhibitions and semi-professional musical, dance and drama performances in the context of the development of audiences for the cultural products and programme in those provinces and at national level. The placement of the arts practitioners in the schools is generally preceded by the intensive capacity building workshops on the methodology and the relevant policy imperatives such as the CAPS. During the workshops, relevant officials from the provincial and district offices of Department of Basic Education, mainly the arts and culture subject advisors are called in to make presentations on the challenges of the implementation of the curriculum as well as all the relevant policy prescripts in the classroom.