Art programs for 3,500 in-need New York children

2015 is off to a great start at Arts For All! We currently have several programs running including Step Right Up!, Creative Works, and the Artistic Residency Program.

With Step Right Up!, teaching artists Bonnie Pipkin and Mary Meyer work with high schoolers at the Green School to create, produce and perform an original play. For many students in this program, this is their only exposure to the arts and their only chance to express themselves creatively. This program provides a vital artistic outlet for students at the Green School and is always well received by students, teachers and school administrators alike.

The Creative Works Program is underway at New Alternatives for Children. New Alternatives for Children provides specialized care for chronically ill children and youth in New York City. In Creative Works, students work with teaching artists Mélissa Smith and Franklyn Strachan, to create an original performance piece to perform for an invited audience of family and friends.

On March 28^th, we held a special Day of Art at New Alternatives for Children. This even began in the morning with a puppet-making activity and then the students were divided into four groups and rotated to different workshops in dance, visual art, drama and music.

In March we partnered with a great organization called Inside Broadway and brought approximately 50 of our students from PS 163 on a field trip to Inside Broadway’s Creating The Magic show. At this presentation, students watched the Broadway cast of On The Town perform select numbers from this show. They also received insight into the makings of a Broadway show through talks given by various members of the production team of On The Town. Our students from PS 163 had a great time at this performance and we are grateful to Inside Broadway for this opportunity.

The Artistic Residency Program is going strong with workshops running at several locations in various disciplines including visual arts, dance, drama and music.

None of our programs would be possible without your dedicated support. Thank you so much for your continued belief in our mission.

Links:

• http://www.arts-for-all.org

Happy New Year from Arts For All! 2014 was a great year for Arts For All and we are looking forward to another year of providing free arts programming for under-served New York City children.

In December, thanks to a grant from the Linden Arts Fund for Children, we held a student art show at Ngam Restaurant in Manhattan. Paintings from a 5^th Grade Arts For All Visual Arts Residency were displayed in the restaurant for several weeks. Arts For All took the students on a special field trip where they were each awarded certificates of artistic accomplishment, viewed their art show and enjoyed a delicious free Thai lunch at Ngam.

We are excited to get our 2015 programs started. We have a number of exciting programs coming up this spring including the Creative Works Program, the Video Creation Project, Literacy Through the Arts and the annual Day at the Met field trip.

For the Creative Works Program, we partner with New Alternatives for Children, an organization working with children in the 5 boroughs with medical disabilities and/or chronic illness. In this program, NAC students work with AFA teaching artists to create, produce and perform an original play. Last year, this program was extremely popular with our students. NAC staff reported that one young girl who participated, who is at risk for Non Verbal Learning Disability and who has a history of being bullied, found the program especially valuable as she was able to make friends in a supportive, fun environment.

In February, Teaching Artist Franklyn Strachan will return to the Incarnation Children’s Center to teach the Video Creation Project. The Incarnation Children’s Center is New York City’s only skilled nursing facility providing specialized care for children and youth living with HIV and AIDS. For this 3 day intensive workshop, Franklyn teaches the students filming, editing and script-writing techniques and they collaborate to create a documentary or a narrative short film.

In addition to these programs we will also have poetry, drama, dance, visual arts and music workshops running at several partnering locations throughout the city this spring. Thanks to your support, we are bringing accessible arts programming to over 3,500 under-served children in the New York City each year. We are truly grateful for your support and look forward to updating you on our programs later this spring. Thank your for your continued partnership.

Links:

• Arts For All's Website