Jennifer Smith, Jasmine Begeske awarded grant by Indiana Arts Commission

Congratulations to Purdue College of Education’s Jennifer Smith, Clinical Assistant Professor of Special Education, and Jasmine Begeske, Clinical Instructor in Special Education, recipients of a $5,000 Arts Project Support Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to support their project entitled, Small But Mighty Mural Project.

With this funding, Smith and Begeske will collaboratively design and install a reusable mural for the outdoor learning lab at Linnwood Early Childhood Center in Lafayette, Indiana. Linnwood serves over 150 preschool-aged students with disabilities. The mural will encourage process-based engagement with art materials (paint, markers, various painting tools) for students with limited access to arts learning. The large surface will allow children to engage in developmentally appropriate mark-making that emphasizes movement and exploration of materials.

Funding for this project will also provide professional development for teachers at Linnwood to inspire them to further incorporate the arts into their curriculum by using the mural. Professional development sessions will include opportunities for teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service providers to expand access to artmaking by creating accessible art tools for individual students with physical, visual, severe, and multiple disabilities.