Woman teaching a child to throw pottery on a wheelI feel blessed to have lived in the Washington, DC area for many years with easy access to some of the best museums, memorials and monuments, art galleries, theaters and concert halls. When I travel to DC today, I still take the opportunity to visit some of these places because the art and history they hold inspires me.

October is officially proclaimed as National Arts and Humanities Month. The official proclamation states:

“Our strength as a Nation has always come from our ability to recognize ourselves in each other, and American artists, historians, and philosophers have helped enable us to find our common humanity.  Through powerful scenes on pages, canvases, and stages, the arts have spurred our imaginations, lifted our hearts, and united us all without regard to belief or background.”

The humanities are the sum of our cultural and intellectual heritage and hopefully, this heritage and knowledge of the past gives us insight into our present and brings us wisdom for the future. The National Endowment for the Humanities was established an independent agency of the United States government and its mission is to award grants to support research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.

You can locate a variety of resources from Federal Art Agencies. Arts teachers may find useful lesson plans, features and programs related to the humanities on the website, Edsitement.

You don’t have to live in Washington, DC to participate in opportunities in the arts and humanities. Every state has arts and cultural opportunities to explore. To locate events and programs in your area, search on humanity councils in your state. What interesting things have you discovered in your area?

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