The DaVinci Initiative is a mission for visual literacy in our contemporary world and a separate division of the Art Renewal Center, a 501C3, non-profit, educational foundation. The DaVinci Initiative, which is geared specifically for art teachers and their students, encourages skill-based learning in art education in order to deepen the understanding and applications of the visual language that surround us.
The DaVinci Initiative believes that art can be taught, and that teaching skills enhances student creativity. Teaching realism-based art skills such as those implemented by Da Vinci and Michelangelo not only aligns with current educational research that other subjects currently embrace, but it also enhances the number of choices students can make when creating their own work.
Like teaching rhythm, tempo, and scales so that a student has many tools to express themselves through music, so too is there a need for a skill-based education in visual art. By learning solid draftsmanship, color theory, paint handling skills, etc. students can expand their own toolbox for visual expression.
The Davinci Initiative’s aim is to enhance visual literacy for both teachers and students with the following programs:
1. The Da Vinci Initiative is developing a series of educational videos and K-12 lesson plans. These lesson plans intend to both train teachers who may be unfamiliar with certain technical art skills, and provide a direct learning experience for K-12 students in art classrooms. These resources will be made available online for classroom teachers and homeschooling parents, as well as adults interested in learning skill-based art methods and techniques.
2. The Da Vinci Initiative will send ambassadors to art education conferences to share skill-based learning methods with other teachers and share lesson plans with them that challenge their students in new ways.
3. The Da Vinci Initiative will provide scholarships for teachers to attend courses that teach advanced technical art skills that they may not have had an opportunity to learn during their teacher training.
The work of The DaVinci Initiative is made possible by our generous sponsors, so please help us fund it.
The DaVinci Initiative is a 501C3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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