Having a mobile art studio will make off-site programs more convenient for instructors as well as students, Brammer and Wright agreed.
Before the bus, independent instructors would load up their own vehicles with supplies and travel to various community locations to provide programming off campus — but if something was forgotten, or supplies ran out, the instructor would not have access to the necessary items, possibly causing the class to end early or unintentionally leave someone out. Now, art supplies are stored and stocked in the bus, which eliminates the worry of forgetting a product or running out of supplies while out and about, Brammer said.
The mobile operation also allows for flexibility to adapt to ever-evolving COVID-19 guidelines, even as most restrictions are being lifted.
The Academy will hire a part-time worker to run the Academy in Motion program. This employee will serve as the bus driver, an instructor, and continue forming connections within the community to expand and optimize the program’s reach, Brammer said.
“We really wanted to have someone whose main focus was to provide this access to our community,” she said.
The Academy does not plan to stop with these preliminary programs. Eventually, it hopes to cultivate a curriculum expanding beyond fine and visual arts and use art as a form of coping and therapy for those struggling with grief, mental health conditions, addiction, and other factors. Such programs would be conducted in conjunction with professional art and music therapists and organizations, and broaden the populations the Academy could reach with the healing power of art.
