The Song Room celebrates 25 Years of Arts Learning!

Since 1999, The Song Room has been creating opportunities for Australian children to participate in music and the arts to enhance their education, personal development and community involvement.

Nurturing a love of learning is at our core. Through the arts, children can be active agents in their learning, able to imagine new possibilities, reframe life stories and enact the change they want to see in the world. The Song Room programs are inclusive and responsive to the unique learning needs of young people and their cultural and social experiences, setting them up to succeed in school and in life.

As the only Australian education organisation delivering multi-year, multi-artform programs we are extremely proud of our history, from single performance incursions in 1999 to arts learning leaders. The Song Room transforms lives through sequential in-class programs and whole school projects that connect communities.

More than 500,000 participants have taken part in a Song Room program, improving wellbeing, school engagement and educational opportunities. Over the years, an increased focus on building generalist teachers’ capacity means high quality arts education is sustainable in more schools than ever.

Addressing Education Inequity

Providing arts learning in some of the most disadvantaged areas in Australia, The Song Room has become an essential partner in the national education ecosystem. We work closely with government and philanthropic partners, striving to make meaningful difference through equal access to quality, evidence-based arts education. We provide fairer opportunities for young people regardless of their geographical, financial or social disadvantage. Without this commitment many young people and their communities continue to miss out.

Pioneers in Digital Arts Education

Launched in 2013, The Song Room’s award-winning platform, ARTS:LIVE, provides teachers with access to 1000s of high-quality, curriculum aligned music and arts teaching resources, developed with some of Australia’s leading artists, arts organisations and arts education specialists. Across Australia, teachers of all levels can easily bring the arts into their classroom through quality content from Museum of Contemporary Art, Australian Theatre for Young People, Queensland Ballet, Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and the Australian Music Vault.

Committed to Cultural Learning

Working alongside some of Australia’s most remote communities in Northern Territory and Western Australia since 2008, The Song Room delivers in-school and blending learning arts and music activities that draw on the expertise of local First Nations community members to engage and nurture student learning.

In 2014, led by Bigambul man Uncle Wes Marne AM, The Song Room’s Deadly Arts program launched in Mt Druitt, Western Sydney. Designed for urban settings, students learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and culture to build pride and inclusive learning environments. The program expanded to Perth in 2018 with Noongar Teaching Artists leading learning and connecting Perth communities. In March 2022 the Deadly Arts Collection was launched on ARTS:LIVE, bringing cultural learning to classrooms across Australia.

Advocates for Change

The Song Room is a critical advocate for the inclusion of arts education at all schools. We connect and inspire change by contributing to cultural, education and arts policies, and by shining a light on the value of accessible, high-quality arts education. This is achieved through our work with a wide range of educational, advocacy, philanthropic, government and corporate partners.

The Song Room partnered with ARIA in 2017 to establish the ARIA Music Teacher Award. The national award continues to be celebrated by the music industry, highlighting the important role that music education plays in improving outcomes for young people.

Grounded in Research

The seminal Bridging the Gap in School Achievement Through the Arts (Caldwell and Vaughan, 2011) research study fortified The Song Room’s reputation as a leading contributor to Australia’s education system, verifying the efficacy of music and arts education programs on student outcomes. Other independent Song Room commissioned studies, New Moves: Understanding the Impacts of TSR programs for Young People from Refugee Backgrounds (Grossman and Sonn 2010), and Transforming Indigenous Education through the Arts (Caldwell 2011) highlight the importance of an evidence-based approach to arts education in Australia.

Community of Giving

The Song Room is proudly built on a committed community of givers who understand the importance of the arts to transform lives. The Song Room community has supported social change for 25 years. From early philanthropic and seed funding through to corporate support and innovative investment in ARTS:LIVE, individuals have generously donated through our appeals, while staff at JB Hi-Fi staff have donated through workplace giving since 2009. Schools and businesses continue to support with fundraisers that change lives. The Song Room could not exist without you. Thank you for being a vital part of The Song Room’s legacy.

We are so proud of an incredible twenty five years of arts learning. Join us this year to celebrate. There are so many ways to get involved. Take part in our Giving Day in June or come along to our Anniversary Gala in October. Follow us on socials to hear about all of our upcoming activities.

We love to hearing from our community. Please leave us message about the power of arts learning here.