Delaware State Arts Conference Held in Dover
Delaware State Arts Conference 2025 attendees at Dover Middle School. Photo: Grace Challman
On Friday, October 10, 2025, arts educators and students gathered at Dover Middle School for the annual Delaware State Arts Conference.
University of Delaware School of Music, Delaware Arts Alliance, Delaware Institute for Arts in Education, and many more vendors filled the halls from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The conference was organized by Delaware Music Educators Association and sponsored by Delaware Thespians, Delaware Art Education Association, and Delaware Dance Education Organization.
Delaware Arts Alliance offered attendees pins and folders detailing DAA’s CREATE Plan. Arts Educators were encouraged to fill out a survey regarding their needs and those of their students. The deadline to complete the survey is Nov. 30, 2025.
Delaware Arts Alliance’s table at Delaware State Arts Conference 2025. Photo: Grace Challman
DAA Workshops
Attendees were given the opportunity to join breakout rooms dedicated to various topics. DAA Executive Director Neil Kirschling offered separate workshops for both arts educators and students about Senate Concurrent Resolution 109 and the discrepancy between commonly cited arts employment statistics and current Department of Labor data.
Kirschling opened the floor for dialogue with both groups to foster a greater understanding of their educational needs.
DAA Executive Director Neil Kirschling gives a presentation at Delaware State Arts Conference 2025. Photo: Grace Challman
Students and educators expressed a common need for arts education aimed at parents and guidance counselors to dispel the myth that a career in the arts is unsustainable.
- A need for messaging that emphasizes the value of arts education and dispels the myth that a career in the arts is unsustainable, with parents and guidance counselors as a key audience.
- The value of internships, robust career and educational pathways, and other work based learning for students.
Delaware Arts Alliance’s CREATE Plan found that in 2021, contrary to the belief that employment opportunities for artists are few and far between, Delaware’s creative sector contributed $3.7 billion to the state’s economy.
Delaware Arts Alliance was honored by the opportunity to engage with Delaware’s arts educators, students, and advocates, and learn more about how to best meet the needs of our state’s artistic economy.
Calls to Action
- Join the next Lt. Governor’s Creative Economy Convening to participate in a virtual Creative Economy Employer Forum, Nov. 13 from 9:30-10:30AM. Link to register and learn more: https://www.delawareartsalliance.org/lt-governors-creative-economy-convenings/
2. Complete the Creative Economy Stakeholder: Arts Pathways Survey.