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Bobbi Young-Mace
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Board Spotlight
Bobbi Young-Mace, Vice President and Senior Financial Specialist at Wachovia Bank, is a new face to YA's growing board that now includes 18 representatives from the arts, education, and business community. While Bobbi is new to the board, she has supported YA for many years. She served as the silent auction chair for YA's annual fundraiser, Taste the Arts, in 2007, and as event chair in 2008, leading YA to produce the most successful fundraiser in its 58 year history. When asked to reflect on why she chooses to dedicate her time to YA, Bobbi stated, "YA has a really good group of people providing high quality arts experiences that have a dramatic impact on the youth of our state. I love being a part of making these opportunities happen." Bobbi also sits on the board of the Kiwanis Club of Columbia and the Friends of National Wildlife Visitors Center.
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YA roster artist, Debra Mims
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Upcoming Events
February is African-American Heritage Month. What a great time to bring such talented YA roster artists, like Illstyle & Peace Productions and Debra Mims, to your school or venue to celebrate the season! For other upcoming monthly celebrations, please click here. To schedule a performance, please contact YA's Program Coordinator, Donna Sherman at donna@yamd.org. 2009 Visionary School Award -- Deadline March 2, 2009
The annual Visionary School Award is presented to the school that best demonstrates its passion for using the arts as an essential component of their students' education. The award presentation will take place at Taste the Arts IV, on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 at CENTERSTAGE, located in Baltimore, Maryland in front of an audience of more than 300 arts, education, philanthropic, and business leaders.
The winning school will receive a $750.00 certificate for future YA programs, and five free tickets, valued at $375.00, to attend Taste the Arts!
Download the application form to apply. For more information, please contact Megan Wills at 410-837-7577 ext. 13 or via email at megan@yamd.org.
Please note: Only schools that have worked with YA within the past two years will be eligible for this award.
Mark Your Calendar!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 from 10 am - 3 pm -- Maryland State Arts Council's Artist-Teacher Conference at the Howard County Center for the Arts. This is your opportunity to meet Maryland State Arts Council teaching artists in four disciplines: performing arts, visual arts, poetry, and playwriting, and discuss possible residencies for the 2009-2010 school year.
Chris Stewart, Arts in Education Program Director, will be giving two sessions on how to fill out the eGRANT online Arts in Education application and reviewing the residency requirements per discipline, which YA encourages all of you to attend.
Saturday, June 13, 2009 at CENTERSTAGE--Taste the Arts IV With Young Audiences, YA's annual fundraiser. Stay tuned for more details.
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Collage of ACCE and REACH Showcases
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Transforming Afterschool Hours
In December, ninth and tenth graders at The Academy for College and Career Exploration High School (ACCE), located in Baltimore City, showed off their drumming, media productions, dance, visual arts, theatre, and poetry skills in a school-wide showcase. Their peers, teachers, and families were in the audience to watch the magic unfold. YA, which makes these arts learning experiences possible at ACCE, sat down with a few students after the showcase to discuss their experience. "Life changing," was the reoccurring phrase during the conversation. Each student shared how they learned about team work and collaborating with others to create something that they all felt very proud about. "Mine was the best," each boasted. Every student was impressed by their classmates' work and were surprised to see the level of their talents in drumming, theater, media, and art. "One thing I like about art is, if you mess up, you can change it..." Devin Floyd, ninth grader at ACCE. Most of the students said that their favorite part of the day at school was eighth period, which is also known as YA's Careers in the Arts Program. This program gives students the opportunity to learn from professional performing, visual, and media artists and to experience and create art. The students noted that because the artists and arts experiences are introducing them to different cultures, they have come to realize many of the celebrations throughout the world are similar to their own. Ninth grader Andrew Barker said, "Our drumming piece was based on a celebration song from New Guinea that is played after the fishing harvest. It reminded me of the times my dad and I went fishing and he would take me and our family out to dinner afterwards to celebrate, whether we caught anything or not." Sadly, for some, this YA program was their first in-depth arts experience, and each appreciated the emotional and academic help and guidance they received from the artists. When asked what they would be doing if they did not have eighth period, they replied in unison, "watching television." More than 120 students participate in the Careers in the Arts Program, which runs Tuesday-Thursday throughout the school year. Students work with their fellow classmates and one on one with professional artists to create everything from poetry to PSAs on issues that concern their generation. This program, which is now in its fourth year at ACCE, has been so successful, it is being replicated at Baltimore City Innovation High School REACH! this year. At REACH! YA is serving 120 sixth and ninth graders on Wednesdays throughout the year. YA helps ACCE and REACH! by designing the program curriculum, recruiting and managing the teaching artists, providing on-site management, developing partnerships, and fundraising. These programs are FREE to students. Given the need in the community, YA plans to offer more arts opportunities in the afterschool hours. Your donation of $25 will help us expand our services during the hours of 3 and 6 p.m. Click here to make a donation.
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One of the many banners displayed around Baltimore City, created by Baltimore City youth, through YA's program funded by Goodnow Pal.
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YA Pledges to Help Baltimore City Principals
During Tough Economic Times
YA's new Access for All Initiative will make it easier and more affordable for Baltimore City principals to include arts in education experiences in their tight budgets. Starting in February, high-need schools in the city will have access to nationally renowned performing and visual artists' programs at only 10% of their actual costs! Research has shown that participation in and learning through the arts promotes student social and personal development, increases attendance, bolsters academic performance, and builds school community. However, when difficult budget decisions need to be made, arts programs are usually the first to be cut. It is our hope that the Access for All Initiative will prevent this from happening and that more school leaders will use this program to restore, continue, or even enhance the opportunities they are providing for their students to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts. The Access for All Initiative provides Baltimore City Public schools with performances, workshops, and residencies in music, dance, visual arts and theatre - all led by professional artists, including HBO's The Wire's Maria Broom or CBS' 60 Minutes featured slam poet Gayle Danley - at just a tiny fraction of the cost. For example, a performance by the Hip Hop Dance Troupe, Illstyle Peace and Productions, which normally costs $850, would only cost $85 to approved city schools. This initiative also gives principals and teachers access to professional development on how to infuse the arts across the curriculum, how to build school community through the arts, and how to use the performing and visual arts in the classroom to improve literacy. The Access for All Initiative combines funds generated through YA's Community Investment Tax Credits (awarded by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development) with grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, Louis B II and Josephine L Kohn Family Foundation Inc., and the Alison Rose Tunis Family Foundation, of the Baltimore Community Foundation. Right now YA has raised enough funds to serve 30 city schools, but we would like to serve more. Contact Amy Genevieve Kozak at amyk@yamd.org to learn how you can help us expand our reach. While this initiative is currently limited to Baltimore City Schools, YA's vision is that one day this initiative will serve the entire state and that all students will have access to opportunities to learn in and through the arts. To learn more, Download the Access for All Initiative packet, or contact Donna Sherman, at donna@yamd.org or at 410-837-7577.
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Students from Arnold Elementary in Arnold, MD during a residency program with YA roster artist Amanda Pellerin.
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Grant Opportunities
Current Grants
1. YA has MSAC AIE funding available for approved artists. If your school is a Title I school or is located outside of the Baltimore Washington Corridor, you are eligible for up to 33% off program fees. To learn more, please contact YA's Program Coordinator, Donna Sherman at donna@yamd.org. 2. Access for All Initiative: YA Arts Programs at 10% of the Cost!!
Thanks to generous donors, YA artists and programs are available to high need Baltimore City Public Schools at just 10% of the cost (a $400 assembly would cost you only $40!). This opportunity helps principals with limited resources provide hands-on learning in the arts that supplement and enrich their curriculum. Download the Access for All Initiative packet to learn more and to apply. Contact YA's Program Coordinator, Donna Sherman, at 410-837-7577 ext. 15 or via email at donna@yamd.org for more information. 3. YA will help you apply for grants and funding. Check with your local arts council to see what is available in your area. For more information on locating and applying for funding, please contact YA's Education Director, Pat Cruz, at patc@yamd.org.
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