Often times the word art gets thrown around in a community, and most of the time people don’t understand what that means. What is a Community Arts Center? What are the arts afterschool programs? The importance of having a saturated arts culture in a community is colossal. This has been proven time and time again through studies focusing on the academic improvement in students, improvement in home life and cohesiveness in a community as well. What exactly are the art programs that make these changes happen?
Four students in Boston featured on NPR’s acclaimed From the Top broadcast are just one of the many examples that answer those questions. Avik Sarkar, Angelica Hairston, Ariel Horowitz, and Karen Cueva received individual grants of $5,000 for their work in the community by utilizing arts to expand the minds of the students they were working with. The results of their work gave the students cultural and ethnic inclusion in their communities, improved skills in the math and sciences, and gave at-risk kids new outlets to create and feel safe. These are the programs in our communities that allow future generations to grow and develop into creative and innovative thinkers. This is arts in the community.
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