With one day left until the end of YA Week 2015, it’s time to reflect on some of the great work that our affiliates have been doing to celebrate and to advocate for arts-in-education! And we would like start off by highlighting Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Maryland and Arts for Learning Miami.
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Maryland
Dr. Thornton's visit to see a Maryland Wolf Trap residency
Young Audiences of Maryland started off their YA Week celebrations with an expansive online YA Week social media campaign. This interactive advocacy campaign asks followers to respond to the prompt "Why Do the Arts Matter?" through various forms of video, text, and images with the hashtag #WhyArts. YAMD has received numerous responses including videos from Maryland State Senator Bill Ferguson and local museum curator Melani Douglass.
YAMD is also proud to have been able celebrate YA Week with Dr. Gregory Thornton, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, at one of their Maryland Wolf Trap residencies, as well as Ken Skrzesz, Coordinator of Fine Arts, Maryland State Department of Education at another Baltimore City school to see a ceramic mural residency in action.
YAMD served nearly 170,000 students at 450 schools and community organizations throughout all 24 school districts during fiscal year 2013-2014. See more WhyArts responses and learn more about YAMD's YA Week celebrations on their website.
Arts for Learning Miami
Arts for Learning Miami celebrated YA Week in style, hosting many YA Week programs and residencies for students at schools throughout the Miami area. A4L Miami also utilized an active online advocacy campaign which featured selected A4L Miami Teaching Artists and their artistic experiences.
Learn more about A4L Miami's YA Week celebrations here.
Young Audiences of Virginia
To kick off their YA Week celebrations, Young Audiences of Virginia helped organize two major outreach events. The first event, in collaboration with the Children's Museum of Virginia, focused on providing a full day of fun and engaging arts activities and performances for students and their families, as well as two professional development sessions for interested educators. YAV also participated in the Tidewater Science and Engineering Fair, presenting the "Young Audiences of Virginia Science Fair Award" to three students for their exemplary work on a project relating to the arts.
YAV was also honored to receive proclamations from the cities of Roanoke and Norfolk as well as a letter of recognition from VA Governor Terry McAuliffe acknowledging YA Week and the great work that YAV has done to provide equitable arts experiences for students across Virginia.
Learn more about YAV's YA Week celebrations here.
Young Audiences of Rochester
In honor of YA Week, Young Audiences of Rochester CEO Lydia Boddie-Rice had the opportunity to be interviewed on Fox Rochester's Good Day Rochester morning show. In the segment, Lydia was able to inform viewers about YA Week, as well as her affiliate's work in the Rochester Community.
In honor of YA Week, Young Audiences of Rochester also organized a showcase of local teaching artists to present examples of arts integrated experiences that YA Rochester provides for over 78,000 students across Upstate New York every year.
Click here to view the segment on Fox Rochester.
Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington
To celebrate YA Week, Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington took their YA Week advocacy efforts directly to the Portland City Council. The YA OR&SWW staff took to city hall to accept a YA Week proclamation from the City of Portland and to publicly testify as to the importance of the arts in the education and development of young people everywhere.
Learn more about YA OR&SWW's YA Week celebrations here.
Young Audiences New York
Young Audiences New York seized the moment that National Arts for Learning Week offers to raise an important question: What’s the next frontier that children and youth need us to take on in New York City?
In collaboration with Young Audiences National, YANY organized a cross-disciplinary panel discussion to consider the opportunity gaps faced by impoverished children and teens in NYC, and to provide a call to action for organizations around the city to step up efforts to bridge the gap and to work towards providing high level educational opportunities for all NYC students. The discussion was moderated by Christine Salerno, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Marsh and McClennan and Companies, and included representatives from the Center for An Urban Future, the Partnership for After School Education, the Cypress Hills Community Development Corporation, and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.
Learn more about YA NY's YA Week celebrations here.
Check out our YA Week page for more information about YA Week and a full list of YA Week participants, and be sure to check out #YAWeek on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more YA Week News!
