1. Development of the Right Brain and Right/Left Brain connections: We all have two hemispheres in our brains. The left hemisphere is verbal, analytical, logical, rational, and linear; the right hemisphere is intuitive, creative holistic, spatial, and visual. In order to function anywhere near our full potential, we need to utilize our entire brain and to train the two hemispheres to work together. Yet, most schools spend over 95% of the time in left-brain activity and almost no time developing the right brain and the connections between the two hemispheres. This doesn't promote "thinking outside the box". It is however generally agreed that training in the Arts offers the best approach to developing the right brain.


2. Creative Problem Solving: There are two possible ways to solve problems - orderly (using the left brain) and creatively (using the right brain). While many problems can be solved in a structured /orderly manner, the more challenging the problem, the more likely it will demand a creative solution. This is true not only in school and in our careers, but in our personal life as well. Hopefully the artiviti website will provide some stimulation for your little ones.


3. Development of Other Intelligences: Howard Gardner, Professor of Education at Harvard and of Neurology and Boston University Medical School has shown that we have seven intelligences or ways of learning and expressing ourselves. Two of them (Linguistic and Logical/Mathematical) reside primarily in the left brain. On the other hand, five (Spatial/Visual, Musical, Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal) reside primarily in the right brain. These intelligences are developed through the Arts and through Physical Education.


4. Improved Success in One’s Career: According to Robert Root-Bernstein, professor of Physiology and MacArthur Prize Fellow at Michigan State University: "Studies show that neither mathematical nor verbal reasoning tests are useful indicators for future careers in science and technology, but high visual imaging ability is. One study found that high aptitude in arts and music are much more predictive of career success in any field than the results of grades, IQ, achievement or any other standardized measures. The arts, despite a reputation for being subjective, emotional and non-intellectual, make science and invention possible."

Why do people look at art ?

Art gives our eyes and mind a chance to rest, to muse, to think. Looking at art, we reconnect with our inner spirit, a spirit that is rich in thoughts, feelings, and dreams, a spirit that can't be bankrupted, no matter what is happening in the financial markets.

Art is a way to marvel at the creative process and in some very real way to participate in it. Fundamentally, human nature revels in the creative side of life. Art chronicles the history of humans and some of the very finest individual accomplishments of the human race. Unlike museums of natural history, art museums document and enshrine human creativity. Without creativity, without innovation, there’s nothing new in our future.