The past two years have seen our share of individual and collective trauma based on the effects of the worldwide pandemic. As we emerge from this period, RCOE VAPA continually strives to make arts trainings available that are topical and relevant. One such offering is “Documenting Trauma Through Comics,” which was presented to a Zoom audience in February of 2021. During the webinar, presenter Louisa Higgins showed a variety of examples of trauma documented in comic form. She then had three artists provide their own comic along with their explanation of the artwork. The next part of the presentation got the participants involved with making their own two-part comic. Finally, participants shared their personal artworks and debriefed the session.

The full video of the webinar, as well as six ready to use comic frames in PDF form, are now available at Documenting Trauma Through Comics.

We invite you to check out this free resource and consider how it might be used in a variety of classroom settings.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 1

Innovative approaches for equitable and exciting opportunities in the visual and performing arts for students during school closures from Riverside County Arts leads.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 2

Meridy Volz's "Art with Heart" program at Indio Juvenile Hall was an instant success, and she was determined to continue teaching even as COVID-19 prevented her from entering the facility.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 3

The Our Town Cultural Arts Program brings the cultural arts into elementary school classrooms in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, engaging students in the traditions and cultures of the citizens who make up our community and the students who sit in our classrooms.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 4

Lady Lead (LL) was founded five years ago by Louisa Higgins, Visual and Performing Arts, and Sarah Scheideman, Artist from Palm Springs Unified School District as a way for middle school girls of promise to interact with female art mentors while doing an arts and crafts project.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 5

Riverside Unified School District's performing arts students join in a partnership project with the community.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 6

In the spring of 2020 the Val Verde Unified School District initiated a Student Quarantine Art Contest, inspired by the Getty Challenge. Students were asked to select a piece of artwork from Google Arts and Culture and re-create it.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 7

The Moreno Valley Unified School District’s Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program was reinvented in 2015 as an investment for all students and has proven to be an exceptional program with its recent Golden Bell Award designation.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 8

In this month’s edition of Amplifying the Arts, we would like to celebrate the California School Board Association Golden Bell Award received by Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s VAPA program called Horizons Unlimited. 

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 9

Riverside County Office of Education, Visual and Performing Arts, is proud to partner with the McCallum Theatre Education to present its online series.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 10

Riverside County Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) is pleased to partner with Desert X to announce its student and family resources for the 2021 Exhibition.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 11

The Riverside County Office of Education is proud to support Mono County Office of Education (MCOE), which is one of the four collaborative counties in the Region 10 service region of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA).

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 12

As we start a new school year, RCOE VAPA would like to share several noteworthy arts recognitions in Riverside County from the spring and summer, as well as a few new events just around the corner.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 13

Riverside County Office of Education Visual and Performing Arts partnered with Inlandia Institute to create the inaugural Riverside County Teen Poet Laureate event. 

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 14

In the Spring of 2021, Louisa Higgins, Arts Administrator, and Peggy Burt, Arts
Consultant, began an in-depth study of the new Arts Framework, which was published in 2020.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 15

Riverside County Office of Education Visual and Performing Arts is pleased to partner with the Palm Springs Art Museum to promote their new online program.

Amplifying the Arts, Volume 16

RCOE VAPA is partnering with CSSSA to get the word out about their Summer School for the Arts!