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A Louisville Water Foundation grant of $15,000 helped the Fund for the Arts provide the Form and Function Program for 250 students in 10 Jefferson and Shelby County elementary school classrooms during the 2024-25 school year.
Form and Function, which also involves Louisville Visual Art and Louisville Water Company’s education & outreach team, is a multidisciplinary, hands-on program that combines art, architecture, history, and engineering. Students learn how water towers work by studying the historic Louisville Water Tower and then creating their own model towers during the five-session program.
A classroom teacher whose students participated in Form and Function said they “really enjoyed learning practical ways to add structure and support to their [water tower] sculptures. A lot of students turned in really amazing work. It seemed like this project really inspired them.”
“The Form and Function Program provides access to a truly unique arts experience for students,” said Andre Kimo Stone Guess, President & CEO for the Fund for the Arts.
“Students often lack the opportunity to see the connectivity between art and the regular activities of their daily life. Form and Function is a creative program that articulates the connection between form, function, community, and art by engaging students through different artistic mediums with STEAM-inspired content.”
Guess also pointed out that “integrating arts into education improves student achievement as indicated by improved test scores, increased graduation rates, and development of valuable skills such as collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.”
The participating schools during the 2024-25 school year were Moorman Elementary School, Schaffner Elementary School, Summit Academy, and Wilkerson Elementary School. The Louisville Water Foundation has supported Form and Function with annual grants since 2017.
