Teaching arts to 28,000 students in Los Angeles

Although school is out of session for most students during the summer months, children involved in LA’s BEST have many opportunities to continue to develop academic and social skills and knowledge while having fun in a safe and supervised, engaging and encouraging environment.   During the period of July 1, 2011 to September 30, 2011, LA’s BEST After School Arts Program (ASAP) provided more than 60 professional artist/educator lead visual and performing arts residencies benefiting 2,500 children ages five to 12 who attend under-resourced public schools, reside in low-income communities, and would otherwise lack access to arts education and exposure.  Moreover, LA’s BEST leadership staff and partners in arts education planned for the upcoming school year, which includes expanding the ASAP String Project at one site and launching the Project at an additional site, so up to 100 more children in need will receive classical music education and instrumental instruction this academic year.

Over the summer LA’s BEST partnered with an organization called “Found Animals”, and participated in the “Animals Are Our Friends” Campaign, which engaged children in conversations about the important roles animals play in our lives and the need for people to treat animals with compassion.  LA’s BEST ASAP students at 131 sites contributed over 1,000 works of art which illustrate the message, “Animals Are Our Friends”.  Further, in partnership with the Skirball Cultural Center, LA’s BEST ASAP students helped paint 100 foam animals that were part of a Noah’s Arc exhibit.

During the reporting period, students in the LA’s BEST After School Arts Program visited a number of exciting locations to experience and enjoy art first hand, including the Norton Simon Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Tolerance, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and the Skirball Cultural Center.