NPT and the Frist Center Partner on ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You

From the official release on the NPT Pressroom:

New series of children’s segments designed to encourage children to be more involved in the arts.

Nashville Public Television (NPT) and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts are proud to announce a new partnership designed to encourage children to be more involved in the arts. “ArtQuest: Art Is All Around You” is a series of short broadcast segments focusing on developing children’s creativity and fostering a love for the visual arts through an interdisciplinary approach. Titled after the Frist Center’s interactive learning gallery for children of all ages, the segments are geared toward viewers ages 7-9 and will air on NPT between 4-6 p.m. around the popular children’s programs “Arthur,” “WordGirl,” “Wild Kratts” and “The Electric Company.” The three pilot episodes, hosted by teens Dajiah Platt and Joseph Lopez, focus on art in architecture, public art, and art in nature, and will premiere on NPT on Wednesday, October 3 and initially air daily. They will also be available on the Frist Center’s website at http://fristcenter.org/artisallaround and NPT’s YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/wnptvideos (and embedded below).

“By combining our production and editing expertise with the Frist Center’s art education knowledge, we’re excited to bring art education to children throughout Middle Tennessee with these spots,” said Beth Curley, president and CEO, NPT.

“We place such a high value on the marvelous relationship we share with Nashville Public Television,” said Frist Center Executive Director Dr. Susan H. Edwards.  “NPT is one of Nashville’s treasures, and here is yet another example.  The idea of creating visual art television programming aimed at children was the brainchild of Dr. Tommy Frist, and we are delighted that this partnership with NPT and the sharing of expertise and resources has resulted in a pilot program we believe might become a model for other communities.”

Platt and Lopez, both 15-years-old, were selected from dozens of applicants from around the state, and bring an enthusiastic and friendly face to art education. Platt hails from Smyrna; Lopez from Hendersonville.

The pilot episodes were produced and written by Linda Wei, directed by Will Pedigo and edited by Matt Emigh. The Frist Center’s education department staff—including Keri Jhaveri, Anne Taylor, Samantha Andrews, Shaun Giles, Rosemary Brunton, Andrea Steele and Anne Henderson — developed the educational curriculum.  Each episode will also have an accompanying activity and lesson plan on the Frist Center’s web site.

During development of the series, NPT consulted Judy Stoia, a public media veteran who was Executive Producer for 25 years at WGBH, Boston. Stoia has extensive experience producing award-winning children’s programs including the highly-acclaimed PBSKids series, Between the Lions. Broadcast nationally for ten years, Between the Lions won ten national Emmy awards, twice was named Outstanding Children’s Program by the Television Critics Association and won awards from Parents’ Choice and the International Reading Association. Stoia spearheaded a successful outreach program among underserved communities in the south, embedding Between the Lions content in early education curricula.

ArtQuest on NPT is made possible by the generous support of the Frist Foundation.