“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” – Albert Einstein

As a student grows older imagination loses its place in education. As educators it seems we’ve lost our way somewhere between inflexible curriculum and the over-abundance of mandated testing. There is no room for the student or teacher to grow beyond the standard. We aim to change things back to the way they used to be.
Artmobile started out as a miniature version of the Art Car Parades in Houston that have spread across the United States. Art Car focuses on American individualism using the automobile as an analog of freedom of expression. Artmobile still holds onto that idea of freedom of expression but adds to it. Artmobile is about applying imagination to make life better. As children we would do this on a regular basis. You might hop in a wagon and pretend you are racing on the Indy 500 or turning cardboard boxes into a spaceship to fly to your next adventure.

Adults use imagination on a regular basis too! We just don’t recognize or emphasize how creativity plays a pivotal role in their lives. Without the ability to imagine the future or better ways of doing things we would not have the internet, smart phones, solar cells, automobiles, and a plethora of other amazing things that have made our lives better.
We spend millions pushing technology, math, and science but it is mostly taught in ways that require you to follow the directions exactly. Modern education tends to teach these subjects in sort of a bubble without real world application or integration of the arts. This may teach us the basics but does nothing to improve our students or society. Including and integrating Fine Arts into classrooms has been proven to eliminate educational achievement gaps for economically disadvantaged students by fostering retention and learning.* Fine Arts have also been proven to activate and engage comprehensive and reflective learning along with improving critical thinking skills.
So break out those old wagons, skateboards, and cardboard boxes you made as a kid. This is a call to bring back the Fine Arts into our schools. This is a call to integrate multiple disciplines together rather than separate. This is a call to break free from the standardization of education. We want creativity. We want to take those old symbols of adventure and imagination and breathe new life into them to remind us of our past. We aim to use our imagination to make the world better the same way Einstein did. We are starting here.

*Mississippi State University. "Effective arts integration improves test scores." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 October 2013. .