Walton Arts Center hosted the third annual AMP Up the Arts fundraising event and benefit concert on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to support the organization’s arts education programming. The event also honored the work and dedication of a local arts educator. Kassie Misiewicz received the Dr. Patricia C. Relph Award.
Each year, AMP Up the Arts brings together supporters who believe creativity belongs in every classroom. Their generosity helps Walton Arts Center provide transformative arts experiences and inspire learning, build confidence and expand opportunities for thousands of students throughout Northwest Arkansas. The event is more than just a fundraiser; it’s an investment in future generations of creative thinkers, compassionate leaders and engaged citizens.
Few people have demonstrated the lasting power of that investment more than Misiewicz. For more than two decades, Misiewicz has dedicated her career to helping children learn through drama – not simply learning about theater but using theater as a powerful tool to understand literature, history, science and one another.
“Whether I am leading a kindergarten class on an imagination trip to the moon or guiding a group of sixth graders to visualize and physicalize a moment in history,” Misiewicz says, “my main goals are to increase literacy, strengthen the classroom community, build empathy and problem-solving skills and make learning fun through drama.”
As a teaching artist, curriculum developer and nationally recognized arts integration consultant, Misiewicz has collaborated with administrators, classroom teachers and librarians to move learning beyond desks and worksheets. Her work invites students to actively engage with ideas, ask questions and discover new ways to express what they know.
Misiewicz has become a trusted mentor for educators across the region, coaching teachers to integrate drama into everyday instruction. Her calm presence, joyful teaching style and student-centered approach have helped educators gain confidence in using the arts to make curriculum more memorable and meaningful.
“Kassie is an arts education influencer of the highest order,” says Dr. Patricia C. Relph, whose lifelong advocacy for arts education inspired the award that bears her name. “She brings the power of the arts to schools and communities. Using the arts teaches others how to learn and share what we know. When we know how to learn, we grow to be more successful and productive in our schools and lives.”