Featured News
Jennifer Katona, Ph.D. Open a New Window Weaving Arts Education in Today’s Classrooms
How do I make sure every kid gets that kind of emotional connection to their education? The Arts are how you do that. I am passionate about working with schools and spreading the word on how powerful and impactful learning through the arts can be. I have seen schools transform time and time again, and […]
Gianmarco Soresi, Stand-Up Comedian: Healing Through Humor
Gianmarco Soresi is a stand-up comedian and actor who just released his first comedy special “Shelf Life“ on Amazon Prime, documenting the experience of writing and performing new material in the middle of a global pandemic. I enjoy kind of dark, twisted humor. I focus on making this joke great, a great set, and […]
Iman Aoun: Breaking Down Walls &Cultivating Hope Through Theatre
For over thirty-five years, Iman Aoun, a theatre-maker from Palestine has dedicated herself to advancing her mission of “breaking down walls” that exist as both physical and psychological phenomena by “cultivating hope [and creating] beauty and change” through her art. Refusing to compromise her commitment to stripping both visible and invisible walls, Iman’s work has […]
Bunny Yan: Fashion Edutainer
With fashion being the 2nd biggest polluter, we need to consumeand produce smarter. Guess what? The solutions exist, now we needto implement! Through this series, I want to show the potential that’s all around us, give a stage to the visionaries and give a great cause to stand behind for those who already have amplifiers.Fun […]
Maggie Stern: Sock Art Celebrates the “Sole” of America
My socks celebrate women who have changed the world for the better and never gave up fighting for what they believed in: justice, honor, the right to vote, equal rights. I started with a stitched design featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who I wanted to honor because she is one of the great champions of equality […]
The First 100 Stories Campaign
First Online With Fran: The First 100 Stories Campaign National Arts in Education Week, September 8 -14. In July 2010, Congress designated the second week of September as National Arts In Education Week to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college and career-ready students. To that end, First Online with Fran is launching The First 100 Stories Campaign. The Arts continue to be cut from school curriculums across the nation. Despite arts advocacy groups’ efforts to prevent the decline of arts inclusion, the budgetary solution remains to be that the arts are perceived as extra-curricular and disposable. In Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee, the central character decided to right a wrong by collecting stories: “One story makes you weak. But as soon as we have one-hundred stories, you will be strong.” Similarly, we can do the same for the Arts. Here’s how: Let’s hear it from you: Teachers! Students! Graduates! Parents! … Submit Your Testimonial...
