EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS

OZ Arts engages more than 6,000 students annually with meaningful arts education experiences.

As a nonprofit contemporary arts organization with a community focus, OZ serves a diverse population that reflects the demographics of the Nashville and Middle Tennessee region. Education and engagement programs include free, arts-integrated curriculum for area schools and community collaborations that create meaningful connections between artists, audiences, students, and educators.

Are you a teacher, teaching artist, or administrator who would like to learn more about our education and engagement opportunities? We’d love to connect! Please contact Thea Jones, Director of Education & Engagement, at thea@ozartsnashville.org.

FOR STUDENTS & TEACHERS

ARTS EDUCATION

Through robust partnerships with Metro Nashville Public Schools and others, OZ offers a wide range of arts-integrated, social-emotional learning experiences tailored to the unique needs of each school. Programs include:

Teaching artist visits for K-12 classrooms
Artist talks, demonstrations, and performances by local and visiting artists
Curriculum coaching and STEAM integration support
Professional development for educators
And more!

STEAM VIDEO LIBRARY

Created in partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools and featuring 20 different lessons, the OZ Arts STEAM video library is a free resource for students and teachers. Dive into surprising takes on poetry, visual art, music, and dance through a unique STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) lens.

FOR ARTISTS & AUDIENCES MEMBERS

FREE MASTERCLASSES

OZ is committed to fostering direct connection between local creatives and visiting artists through FREE masterclasses, announced on a rolling basis throughout the year. Past masterclasses have been taught by:

Performers from the country’s most respected companies, such as
A.I.M by Kyle Arbaham, Camille A. Brown & Dancers,
and Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE
Celebrated multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek
Vocalists and dancers of Vuyani Dance Theater (South Africa)
Innovative devised theater company Gob Squad (Germany / U.K.)
Dance icons Wendy Whelan, Hervé Koubi, and Bobbi Jene Smith
And many more!

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

When possible, OZ Arts provides special opportunities for audience members to engage with performing artists. Offerings vary by performance and may be added to the event calendar throughout the year. These events can include:

Pre- or post-show conversations with the artists
Opening night toasts
Offsite lectures and demonstrations

BRAVE NEW ART PODCAST

A podcast produced by OZ Arts, Brave New Art explores the creative process through intimate interviews with artists of all creative disciplines. New episodes are added throughout the performance season. Past guests have included:

Emmy-nominated composer Dave Ragland
New Dialect founder Banning Bouldin
Celebrated Nashville poet Ciona Rouse
Ingenious animator and director Miwa Matreyek
And more

FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS

OZ Arts develops intentional community partnerships that celebrate the diverse voices and perspectives in the contemporary arts. Regional partnerships include:

Space-sharing for workshops and artist talks, such as partnering with TM Productions, Global Education Center, and others to bring OZ visiting artists into the community
Creative collaborations with fellow arts organizations, like the Art Wire creative writing fellowship with The Porch
Resource-building between OZ and area nonprofits
Free and discounted performance ticket opportunities
And more

ART WIRE

Art Wire is an ongoing creative writing collaboration between OZ Arts and The Porch. Each performance season, a cohort of writers is selected via application to attend a variety of OZ Arts presentations and respond to each work through original writing that is personal, playful, and deeply engaged.

SUPPORT

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, OZ Arts’ education and engagement programs are made possible by individual donors, corporate sponsorship, and government funding. If you’d like to make a gift of support, learn more here or contact Nicholas Gulick, Director of Development, at nick@ozartsnashville.org.