Arts For All offers accessible artistic opportunities to children in the NYC area who face socio-economic, physical or emotional barriers to exploring the arts. We serve about 5,000 children a year through our in-person and virtual programming. Our workshops are offered in many artistic disciplines, and are free of charge to the children and youth organizations we serve. Amidst budget cuts and plummeting literacy rates, our partners rely on us for quality arts and literacy programs.
The need for free arts education programs in New York City's underfunded schools is critical. From 2020-2023, NYC public schools lost 425 full-time certified arts teachers. As of 2024, more than 19% of NYC's public schools lack a single certified arts teacher, disproportionately affecting minority and low-income students. 420,000 children in NYC live in poverty (26% of all children) and schools struggle to support an influx of migrant students.
ARTS FOR ALL (AFA) is a non-profit arts outreach organization providing programming to in-need children ages 4-19. Through Arts For All, professional artists work with youth organizations to build self-confidence, self-expression, teamwork, resilience, and creativity in children. Workshops are offered in many disciplines such as drama, dance, visual arts, music, video art, and academic-based art workshops which help children learn academic subjects through the arts.
We hope to open children's eyes to artistic skills they may not realize they have, build life skills through the arts, and/or provide positive outlets for releasing energy and creativity. Our roster of highly-qualified Teaching Artists work to build self-confidence, self-expression, teamwork, resilience, and creativity in students through our four branches of programming: Artistic Residency Program, Literacy Through the Arts, Audience Project, and the Artistic Exposure Program.
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