Artistic Literacy Defined

Excerpt from Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE) about the role of artistic literacy in teaching and learning. 

The quest for students to acquire literacy, or educational knowledge and competency, is a ubiquitous goal across all curricular disciplines. The fundamental skills and knowledge needed for basic literacy provide the foundation for more complex learning to occur. Acquisition of literacy in the arts is similarly developed when students can demonstrate and communicate their understanding of the basic concepts and principles of the art form. Artistic literacy is defined in the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning (2014) as follows:

 …artistic literacy is the knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the arts. While individuals can learn about dance, media, music, theatre, and visual arts through reading print texts, artistic literacy requires that they engage in artistic creation processes directly through the use of materials (such as charcoal or paint or clay, musical instruments or scores...) and in specific spaces (concert halls, stages, dance rehearsal spaces, arts studios and computer labs).1 

1 National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, National Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning. (Reston, VA), http://nccas.wikispaces.com/Conceptual+Framework