Perpich Center for Arts Education

The Perpich Center for Arts Education (PCAE) is an agency of the State of Minnesota that is dedicated to improving 11 and 12th graders' arts education for all Minnesota students and educators through innovative programs and partnerships centered in the arts. A 33 acre campus in Golden Valley houses the Center's three main components: the Professional Development and Research Group (PDR), Arts High School (AHS) and the PCAE Library. PCAE serves as the premier resource for arts education in Minnesota.

The Arts High School is a tuition-free public high school delivering a comprehensive education centered in the arts. The school is open to all 11th and 12th grade students who are Minnesota residents. Students apply and audition in their 10th or 11th grade year, in one of six areas:theatre, dance, media arts, visual arts, literary arts, or music. AHS is the leading public arts-centered high school in the state. With enrollment limited to 310 students, AHS offers the benefit of learning in a small community while allowing students to take advantage of arts resources in the Twin Cities. Students living in the Twin Cities area often commute each morning, while those from the greater Minnesota area live in dorms on campus.

History

Former Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich and his wife Lola provided the vision for the creation of the center following an extended stay in Vienna, Austria. Inspired by the seamless integration of arts and academics in Viennese schools, Lola and Rudy worked to create a similar model in Minnesota when Rudy was re-elected governor in 1983. After lengthy debate and across-the-aisle compromise, the idea of an arts high school was expanded to include professional development in arts education available to all Minnesota teachers and a statewide resource library.

The center was established in legislation in 1985 and was titled the Minnesota School of the Arts and Resource Center. Opening as The Minnesota Center for Arts Education (MCAE) in the autumn of 1989, the school opened with junior students who graduated in the spring of 1991. The school has graduated nearly 2,000 alumni, many of whom have gone on to top ranked colleges and conservatories across the country.

The center is located on property that belonged to the Golden Valley Lutheran College and the majority of the Center's buildings were originally part of that school. Some relics from the old school still remain, such as the Beta dormitory that is no longer in use.

Currently there is an alumni group in formation, The Perpich Community Defense Alliance. Alumnus are requested to contact [e-mail] to get involved.

Art Areas

Theater

The theater program at Perpich, taught by Barbara Morin and Tory Peterson, focuses on Stanislavsky System. The department is divided between juniors and seniors with juniors learning Stanislavsky System and improvisation with Barbara Morin, and then second semester they learn viewpoints with Tory Peterson. The seniors learn playwriting based on Anton Chekhov and then produce and act in their own plays again with Tory Peterson, before switching to Barbara Morin for a unit on Classical Theater.

Dance

The dance program at Perpich, taught by Mary Harding and Tom Kantak, is focused mostly on modern dance, with some ballet training. Students are taught improvisation, dance history, criticism, and choreography. Two dance concerts are performed per year, in the winter and in the spring. Although at times the dance department is split between juniors and seniors, more than any other art area the dance departments students spend time in class together regardless of grade.

Music

In the Music department students are broken up into Ensembles. They stay with these ensembles for about 6 weeks and then perform what they have either created or covered. Students are also put into Ear Training classes which they are tested into at the beginning of each school year. There are also seminars that students are required to take. Some Seminars are Electronic Music, Counterpoint, Jazz Rock Theory, World Music and Culture, Composition and many others. The music department staff consists of Matt Mayfield, Janice Hunton, Janika Vandervilde, James Allen, and Chris "Dr. G" Granias.

Literary Arts

The literary arts program at Perpich is taught by John Colburn and Shannon Hannigan.In junior year, with Shannon Hannigan, students start out with an intense study and practice of memoir, and then move on to short fiction, eventually creating a research-based, character-driven short story.In senior year, John Colburn focuses on developing students' work in a variety of genres, with a strong emphasis on poetry.

Media Arts

The Media Arts program is taught by Nancy Norwood with guest artists from the community. The program includes work with digital and traditional photography, computer animation, digital film along with film history and criticism, screenwriting. The department competes annually in national competitions, and the students are required to present work in the community and develop a portfolio for review.

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts department is the largest department in the school. It is comprised of a painting and drawing studio, printmaking studio, ceramics room, computer lab and gallery space. It is taught by Bill Jeter and Karen Monson, and part time by Colleen Brennan. Bill teaches students printmaking and graphic design, and Karen teaches drawing and painting. All students take art history, taught by Craig Farmer.

The junior year curriculum is designed to give students a common language and build a supportive atmosphere. All juniors share this communal experience of core learning,studying painting, drawing, jais gossman, graphic design, printmaking, documentation, portfolio development and art history.

The senior year is a year of electives. Choices include papermaking, oil painting, caleb wood, advanced drawing, stop-motion animation, ceramics sculpture, digital imaging, grant writing,public art, sculpture, jewelry, monotype printmaking, screen printing, and portfolio development. Senior classes are designed to hone skills, develop independence, and explore post-secondary options.

Both years are grounded in critique, making connections and discovering a broader and deeper understanding of how the visual arts relate to a variety of disciplines.

Noted Alumni

*Sean Tillmann (Har Mar Superstar) (1995), singer
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1334502/ Erik Kenward] (1995), writer for Saturday Night Live
*Jordis Unga (2000), contestant on Star Search and
* [http://www.katherinegerdes.com/ Katherine Gerdes] (1999), contestant on Project Runway

Location

The Perpich Center is located on Olson Memorial Highway in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

External links

* [http://www.pcae.k12.mn.us Perpich Center for Arts Education]
* [http://minnewiki.publicradio.org/index.php/Perpich_Center_for_Arts_Education MN Music Wiki entry on PCAE]
* [http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/photos/season/3/designers/Katherine_Gerdes Project Runway page for Kathrine Gerdes]