It’s 2018 and Arts For All celebrates 10 years as a non-profit! All year we will spotlight some of AFA’s donors, students’ work, partners, and programs.
Check out our Spotlights for the year so far:
JANUARY
Donor: AFA is grateful for the support of longtime donor Amy Losak! Amy, daughter of poet Sydell Rosenberg (look out for her upcoming book H IS FOR HAIKU from Penny Candy Books, pennycandybooks.com), has funded programs combining Haiku Poetry and art disciplines like music, drama, and visual arts.
Student Work: Thanks to Smart Design, first graders in the Literacy Through the Arts program, working with teaching artist Patrick McGee, got to visit the professional design studio to make puppets after they read Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are.
Partner: PS163, in the Bronx, has been an AFA partner since the 2009-2010 school year. This year we are pleased to have received funding to expand the Literacy Through the Arts program to PS163.
Program: Literacy Through the Arts (LTA) works to build literacy skills through arts in grades K – 2 in PS 15 (Manhattan), Hamilton Heights (Manhattan) and starting this year, PS 163 (Bronx). LTA fosters literacy, language development, and personal development and provides students with the opportunity for creative self-expression.
FEBRUARY
Donor: We are so grateful for the continued support of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA)! DCLA is the largest municipal funder of culture in the country and is committed to providing access to art and culture for all New Yorkers. Artistic Residency Program, Literacy Through the Arts, Video Creation Project, and Creative Works are made possible in part by DCLA in partnership with the New York City Council!
Student Work: While students at PS 69 were studying the American Revolution in Social Studies, through the Artistic Residency Program with Visual Arts teaching artist Ron Chironna, they portrayed some of these figures and scenes using pastels.
Partner: Incarnation Children’s Center (ICC) has been an Arts For All partner since the beginning. ICC in Harlem is New York City’s only skilled nursing facility for children and youth living with HIV/AIDS. The children and adolescents who live at the facility are too sick to live at home, but not sick enough to require hospitalization. In 2010 we piloted the Video Creation Project at ICC and it has been running there ever since!
Program: Creative Works is series of multiple self-expression workshops for youth with disabilities. The young actors and writers participate in creative workshops to devise an original performance piece based on their life experiences or inspirations, and perform in a final presentation.
MARCH
Donor: AFA is grateful for the support of the Harry Chapin Foundation for the past two school years! The mission of the Harry Chapin Foundation is to support organizations that have demonstrated their ability to dramatically improve the lives and livelihood of people by helping them to become self-sufficient. This school year, the Harry Chapin Foundation provides support for programs at Weeksville Elementary School (Brooklyn) and PS 163 (Bronx).
Student Work: Williamsburg High School for Arts & Technology (formerly known as The Green School) is one of two sites to have participated in the Video Creation Project. Last year, working with teaching artists MaryAnne Piccolo, each of the two classes learned about process of creating a short film and came up with sock puppet silent films. Click HERE to see “Devin Gets Married” and HERE to see “The Guard”.
Partner: PS 15 on the Lower East Side in Manhattan has been an AFA partner since 2009. Thanks to the strong partnership, AFA worked with PS 15 to pilot Literacy Through the Arts, the arts literacy program for students in grades K – 2. The program continues to run at PS 15 and since then has grown to serve two additional schools.
Program: Artistic Exposure offers special extra-curricular opportunities for the students AFA serves, such as A Day at the Met. The trip serves to expose youth to the classics, inviting them to fully explore all the Metropolitan Museum of Art has to offer. Arts For All is currently looking for a sponsor to help make this program possible in 2018. Please contact us if you would like to learn more!
APRIL
AFA is pleased to have the support of GlobalGiving, a global crowdfunding community connecting nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country. Not only does Global Giving help AFA process online donations, they help nonprofits like AFA access to tools, training, and support to be more effective organizations. Check out our page at https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/art-programs-in-need-new-york-children/
Student Work: Spring 2017, 4th graders at PS 163 learned how to observe their surrounding natural environment to paint spring landscape. Teaching Artist Vidho Lorville encouraged students to observe how the landscape vegetation changes in different seasons. Students learned how to paint a tableau by using artistic techniques of tint, tone, and shade to create volume and depth in their landscape painting. Students also studied different types of wild life mammals found in the parks and woods in the state and city of New York.
Partner: One of Arts For All’s newest partnerships is PS 76 in Queens. The partnership started in 2016 when, with a contribution from donor Amy Losak, AFA piloted a Haiku and Visual Arts program at the school. Students used Haiku poetry as inspiration for their paintings.
Program: One Artistic Residency Program is Dance. Spring 2017, working with teaching artist Leslie Saint-Jour, students at Weeksville Elementary in Brooklyn focused on storytelling through dance. They embodied a jazz band, portraying the sounds through movement. The school was so pleased with the students’ work in AFA, they presented their dance pieces in the school’s end-of year dance festival.
MAY
Donor: The New York State Council on the Arts is dedicated to preserving and expanding in the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will be become the heritage of New York’s citizens. Literacy Through the Arts is made possible in part by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Student Work: Literacy Through the Arts is AFA’s arts literacy program for grades K-2. In the kindergarten classes, students use the arts to learn letters in the alphabet. Working with teaching artist Robin Cannon Colwell in 2014, students worked on “C” is for cat and “M” is for masquerade masks.
Partner: Williamsburg High School of Arts & Technology (WHSAT, originally known as The Green School) has been an AFA partner since 2011. Originally the site for Step Right Up!, AFA now offers WHSAT students Video Creation Project, where students learn the basics of filmmaking and create an original video.
Program: Audience Project presents free professional theater production to the thousands of youth Arts For All serves. In the past, Audience Project has toured shows to the schools like Voice Power and Pinocchio. Last year, for the first time, AFA invited students to the Kraine Theater for the new show, Jack vs. Rapunzel: The Musical.
JUNE
Supporter: Paint Nite’s mission is “to encourage creativity, empower communities, & inspire connections (away from the screen), all while offering a new way to go out & have fun.” November 2017, AFA cohosted a Paint Nite event with Mighty Mutts. Participants combined the focus of the 2 organizations love of animals & visual arts to create amazing work. AFA & Mighty Mutts split a portion of all ticket sales!
Student Work: Fall 2015, students at PS76 learned Haiku poetry from select works about cats by Sydell Rosenberg. After working on & learning the art of Haiku, students worked with teaching artist Robin Cannon Colwell to create a song. Students wrote their own haiku for the chorus as a group, & incorporated selected haiku poems from class as the verses of the song. Click here to listen!
Partner: AFA’s partnership with Weeksville Elementary (Brooklyn) is one of the oldest. Since 2009, Weeksville students have participated in AFA’s Audience Project & Artistic Residency Program. The last 2 years, the school has requested a dance residency to help the students prepare for the end-of-year school Dance Festival.
Program: Artistic Residency Program provides free arts programming in disciplines varying from visual arts, drama, dance, movement, to music to students in Staten Island, Queens, Bronx, & Brooklyn. Over the years, residencies have covered the spectrum from learning about Hip-Hop through Visual Arts to exploring sound, movement, & the environment of various animals through Drama.
JULY
Supporter: AFA is grateful the support of Coffee for Less, an Internet coffee shop for homes, offices, & restaurants. Since 2014, Coffee For Less has sold 4 special AFA blends (“Confidence Builder”, “Creative”, “Morning Resilience”, & Self Express-O”), a portion of those proceeds is donated back to AFA! Order your AFA coffee at https://www.coffeeforless.com/collections/arts-for-all
Student Work: Literacy Through the Arts is AFA’s multi-arts literacy program in grades K-2 at PS15, Hamilton Heights Elementary School, & PS163. Each year the 2nd grade classes finish the year by adapting a fairytale. The last years, students adapted CINDERELLA & JACK & THE BEANSTALK. To go with their play adaptions, students created masks from paper plates for their characters.
Partner: AFA has been working with New Alternatives for Children (NAC) since 2008 with Creative Works. NAC, based in Manhattan, provides high quality services in support of birth, foster, & adoptive families caring for medically fragile children. This includes children with severe physical, emotional, & behavioral challenges, & development disabilities. This year, the performance theme was “Two Sides to Every Story”.
Program: Step Right Up!/Poetry provided free arts workshops to high school students in New York City, creating a final production integrating poetry, spoken word, theater, dance, music, & visual arts. Teaching artists worked with students at Williamsburg High School for Arts & Technology (formerly known as The Green School), guiding them through all steps of creating a performance piece.
AUGUST
Donor: AFA is grateful for the support of Linden Arts Fund for Children, an AFA supporter since 2014. Linden has helped support Visual Arts residencies throughout NYC! Thank you Linden for being a part of such beautiful self-expression!
Student Work: In 2017, students at PS 69 studied collages by Alex Katz, Romare Bearden and others. Under the guidance of teaching artist Ron Chironna, they created their own collages of places in their own community.
Partner: AFA has long partnered with SoBRO (which stands for South Bronx). SoBRO’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in the South Bronx by strengthening businesses and creating innovative economic, housing, educational, and career development programs for youth and adults. AFA has been pleased to provide Dance/Movement, Drama, and Visual Arts program.
Program: Artistic Residency Program is not just a way to teach the arts, but it is also used as an avenue of exploration. In Fall 2016, teaching artist Sarah Plotkin led an Artistic Residency Program in Drama for third graders at PS163. Over the course of six weeks, she guided students through using their imagination to explore sound, movement, and the environment of various animals.
SEPTEMBER
Donor: AFA is grateful for the new support of the Gould Family Foundation for Literacy Through the Arts in the 2018-19 school year! The mission of the Gould Family Foundation is to support innovative programs that promote Experiential Learning & the Arts. This year, LTA will be at PS 15 (Manhattan), Hamilton Heights School (Manhattan), & PS 163 (Bronx).
Student Work: Spring 2018, students participating in an after school Visual Arts Artistic Residency Program learned vocabulary related to drawing, printing, transfer, & painting. Teaching artist Vidho Lorville guided students through making drawings (landscape, portraits), which they turned into print, and painted their own printed drawings onto wood slat surfaces.
Partner: Hamilton Heights School has been an AFA partner since 2010. Located in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood in Manhattan, HHS is one of three schools part of Literacy Through the Arts, the arts literacy program for students in grades K-2. HHS students have also participated in the Audience Project, where they got to see a free professional theater production.
Program: Video Creation Project is a series of video workshops where, guided by a teaching artist, students learn the basics of filmmaking, from conception & storyboarding to filming & editing, to create a short documentary or narrative film. Check out one class at Williamsburg High School of Arts & Technology’s video: A little girl begs her mom for a new doll. Mom buys a doll from a secondhand store, but it comes with a few surprises.
OCTOBER
Supporter: Givenik is an great way to get discounted tickets premium seats, & group rates for Broadway & Off-Broadway, all while supporting non-profits! Givenik gives 5% of every ticket sale to non-profits. Planning on seeing a show & want to support AFA? Go to https://bit.ly/2pB100H to do both!
Student Work: In 2012, students from The Green School (renamed Williamsburg High School of Arts & Technology) participated in Artistic Residency Program: Visual Arts. They got an opportunity to present their work in an art show at Ngam Restaurant. Their work hung in the East Village restaurant for 3 weeks for the whole neighborhood to see.
Partner: PS 69 has been an Arts For All partner since 2009. Students have demonstrated their creativity through drama, puppetry, and visual arts. Visual Arts is a frequent favorite!
Program: Thanks to funding from an AFA supporter, Amy Losak, PS163 students participated in a special Artistic Residency Program: Haiku Poetry & Drama. Students learned the elements of Haiku & used the poems of Sydell Rosenberg to explore ensemble building & emotions.
NOVEMBER
Donor: Kohl’s has been an AFA donor since 2014. Kohl’s sends employee volunteers to AFA events such as masking-making and the annual Book Fair. With a group of 5 volunteers, Kohl’s donates $500 to AFA!
Student Work: In 2015, thanks to support from Townley Foundation for the Arts, Australian Group Travel, & NYC artist Erick Sanchez, a group of 5th graders from PS163 participated in a special visual arts event. Not only did they learn to create their own landscape paintings, but they also got to take a “gallery walk” through the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center where their work was framed & hung.
Partner: Play On! Studios has been an AFA partner since 2011. Co-founded by AFA Board Member Lena Moy-Borgen, Play On! Studios’ mission is to make theater and music relevant for contemporary kids using innovative teaching methods. Play On! is an exciting option for parents with creative kids who lead busy lives. For AFA, Play On! participated in the Audience Project by inviting SoBro (another AFA partner) to their summer shows.
Program: This year’s Audience Project is THE MAGICIAN’S ASSISTANT, written & performed by Melissa Smith, in December at The Tank & Barnes & Noble’s Book Fair. Thanks to the support of Play On! Studios (www.playonstudios.com) & working with The Tank (www.thetanknyc.org), AFA presents this interactive show that teaches children the power of believing in yourself, asking for help, & eating your vegetables.
DECEMBER
Supporter: Each December, Barnes & Noble Tribeca hosts Arts For All’s Book Fair. This year, December 13-17, there’s a children’s show each morning, gift-wrap, & Barnes & Noble generously donates a portion of sales to AFA when Arts For All’s mentioned at the register. AFA will also be at Barnes & Noble Tribeca for gift-wrap Dec 7-9. Thanks Barnes & Noble for your continued support!
Student Work: As Fall semester comes to a close, 2nd graders in Literacy Through Arts learn the basics of poetry. The last 2 years, students ended the poetry unit by writing an original poem about winter & creating decorative Winter Window displays.
Partner: Community-Word Project leads TAP, Teaching Artist Project, a comprehensive training and internship program designed to prepare practicing artists to bring their craft to the classroom. From TAP, the TAP Cohort was created, a network of Arts in Education organizations collaborating on a series of Teaching Artist professional development seminar and internships. A Cohort member since 2017, AFA teaching artists have been able to attend TAP workshops while AFA has used TAP artist as interns and some have been added to the AFA roster!
THANK YOU: To close the year, we want to take a moment to thank all of Arts For All’s donors, students, partners, teaching artists, teachers, school/site administrators, & volunteers, past & present, that have made this work possible. It has been an artful 10 years, & we can’t wait to see what is in store for AFA’s future.
AFA TURNED 10 in 2018!
This year, Arts For All celebrates 10 years as a non-profit! For a decade, we have provided free arts programming to thousands of children across New York City. We want to continue to grow, and get rid of barriers to exploring the arts. Help us to continue to bring more art for 10 more years (and beyond!).
Donate to AFA
Click HERE to support free arts programs for another 10 years!
Missed the Spotlights on social media?
Click HERE to check out AFA donors, partners, student work, and programs we are shining a light on this year.
