Castlemaine State Festival: Arts in Education Research Project

Castlemaine State Festival is a biennial multi-arts festival first held in 1976. Through the engagement of local, regional, national, internationally acclaimed artists a diverse program is carefully put together to provide regional audiences with a vibrant cultural experience. This project is evaluating the impact of the education program designed for both primary and secondary schools in the area. Running in its current form since 2009, the education program invites over 1500 F-6 into Castlemaine over 5 days to engage with a series of workshops. Over 600 hundred Year 7-11 students are engaged in music and visual arts mentorships across two school terms. In 2015, all F-12 schools in Mount Alexander Shire and two just outside the shire are participating in the opportunity, a total of 17 schools. It is timely that this study will begin to evaluate and collect lived experiences of artists, schools, teachers, and students who participate.