Other Programs & Initiatives
Long recognized internationally as a leader in craft education, Haystack offers the following:
In addition, Haystack continues to develop new programs to serve people on the local level as well. Some of the other outreach programs that Haystack offers, and largely subsidizes, for residents of its home state and local communities are:
- Student Craft Institute
Students are allowed ample time to work in the studios while at Haystack. ...is a three-day studio session for 70 Maine high school students from as many schools throughout the state, who work with noted New England artists. For more than 15 years, over 900 Maine high school students have attended Haystack's Student Craft Institute. This program brings together high school juniors who have been identified as particularly gifted in the arts and their teachers from some 70 high schools throughout Maine to work in Haystack's renowned setting. Participants include students from a number of isolated rural communities, an important aspect of the program for the opportunity it gives youngsters from different backgrounds to discover that they have common interests and can support one another in work undertaken jointly.
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| Learning to collaborate is an essential part of Haystack's mentoring programs. |
...is a three-day studio session for 70 high school students from three schools in communities surrounding Deer Isle. The objectives of Studio Based Learning include: demonstrating that students who work intensively and at their own pace can develop a renewed sense of learning as well as their own potential; and creating a bridge, through the crafts, between fine arts and industrial arts instruction that fosters an appreciation of both.
The Haystack Mentors Program
...is a follow-up activity of Studio Based Learning, which links local high school students with area artists who incorporate the studio experience into local arts curricula throughout the school year. Mentorships provide an intensive educational environment - the mentor concept is frequently cited as a great way to engage adolescents - one that not only can increase students aspirations, but provide an integrated and challenging educational experience.
- The Haystack Adult Mentors Program
...involves area residents who have not taken part previously in Haystack programs, working with local craftmakers and visual artists in their studios. While Haystack has made significant progress in reaching students on the island, this project provides a new opportunity to extend the school's mission to reach parents and grandparents of those children. This project provides an opportunity for Haystack to work with a local organization, the Healthy Island Project, to involve adult learners in arts activities that will help break down barriers of communication.
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| A diverse group of Island and peninsula residents participate in Island Workshop Day. |
- Island Workshop Day
...is a collaboration with the Healthy Island Project (HIP). This program is an extension of the Adult Mentors Program, which was initiated in 2001 by Haystack and HIP. The Island Workshop Day is open to all Adult Mentors Program participants, as well as to the greater Island community, and brings together 60 participants for day-long workshops at Haystack’s studios. The programs culminate in exhibitions of student work.
- The May Artist Residencies
...features noted artists and performers who work collboratively with Island teachers, students, and other area residents to create and/or present public performances or installation projects. These residencies are designed to take place in late spring, during a time when Haystack readies its studios and campus for the summer season. In addition to allowing visiting artists to work with local students, create new work, or retreat in Haystack's renowned setting, the residencies expand the use of the school's award-winning facility in ways that make sense, moving students beyond a one-time exposure to artists.