UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center

About the Education/Access Department

During a recent strategic planning process, hundreds of patrons and staff expressed a desire to strengthen the Center's educational offerings and to enhance these programs through a Centerwide strategy. In response to this groundswell of interest, Dr. Willie Hill established the Education/Access department in 2002 with the following goals:

to promote the significance of the Fine Arts Center's educational offerings
to enhance collaboration for current and future education/access initiatives
to facilitate educational partnerships between the Fine Arts Center and its campus and community.

What is Education/Access?

At the Fine Arts Center, "education" programs are defined as workshops, artist residencies, master classes, artist 'talk backs,' programs for schoolchildren and teachers/educators, as well as other programs and services that extend beyond the presentation of a performance or exhibit. "Access" is a term used to describe the philosophy of making these programs accessible to a broad group of people, including students, staff and faculty of the University, as well as young people in the community, seniors, and others who reside in the region.

The Education/Access department proudly promotes the breadth of educational programs that are presented by the Fine Arts Center. In our calendar of educational events, you will see the impressive array of educational events that are sponsored by the Center, many of which are offered "behind the scenes" when an artist or performer visits the Fine Arts Center. These programs provide audiences with a more in-depth understanding of a performance or exhibition. For instance, "master classes" are a regular staple of Center Series performances, giving community members and University students the opportunity to interact with a performer in a classroom setting. "Artist residencies" engage artists and performers for extended periods of time, and might include artists demonstrating in area schools, participating on panel discussions or presenting "talk-back" sessions following performances.

Other educational offerings are designed to introduce the uninitiated to live performances and exhibitions of original artwork. For example, "The Lively Arts" is a general education course that provides over 400 undergraduates each year the opportunity to attend live performances and gallery exhibitions as part of their course requirements. And, New WORLD Theater has developed an international reputation for its community-based collaborations, in which teenagers in the community learn to express themselves through theater and poetry and then later present this work in a live performance. These are just a few of the many educational offerings of the Fine Arts Center.

We invite your ideas and suggestions as we move forward with an ambitious agenda. If you are interested in partnering with the Fine Arts Center by sponsoring a visit by an artist or performer to your school or class, please feel free to call Education Program Manager Lori Tuominen at (413) 545-4164. We also welcome and encourage your input into this site-how can it be most useful to you? Let us know!