ArtsConnection
520 8th Avenue
Suite 321
New York, NY 10018
(212) 302-7433
www.artsconnection.org

Steel Pan Drum instruction at P.S. 65x. Photo Credit: Karen Hendershot

2009/2010 SCHOOL YEAR

ArtsConnection continues to reach thousands of NYC students

The 2009-2010 school year proved to be one filled with artistic discovery and learning for students in the NYC public schools. This year, ArtsConnection collaborated with:

• 104 schools in all five boroughs
• 168 teaching artists, assistants and accompanists
• Over 30,000 students with classes in dance, theater, music and visual arts

Theater and dance programs were the most prevalent, representing 36% and 29% of all in-school programs, with the remainder split equally between Music and Visual Arts.

Program Highlights

• On May 17th, 400 NYC public school students took to the stage at the Majestic Theater at the Broadway Junior Sharing, hosted by High School Musical star Corbin Bleu and made possible by a partnership between the Shubert Foundation, Musical Theater International (MTI), the NYC Department of Education and ArtsConnection.

• The “Hot, Hot, Hot” rhythms of Steel Pans echoed through the hallways of PS 167 in Brooklyn this spring. After 12 weeks of hard work, five student ensembles, under the guidance of instructors Kenneth Salters and Sean Dixon, played musical arrangements in front of their families and friends on April 22nd.

• Artists from our Student Art Program (SAP) have their work on display at the offices of corporate sponsor PricewaterhouseCoopers. The exhibition, titled "The View From Here," enjoyed a special Opening Night Reception May 13th.

• In partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Shubert Foundation, ArtsConnection provided theater instruction to 20 public schools throughout the five boroughs, 10 of which participated in the Shubert Program for the first time this year.

• The High 5 Tickets to the Arts program sold over 6,000 tickets from January to June. 70 Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC) students published their reviews on the brand new High 5 Review, an interactive hub fueled by teen arts coverage. Another 70 students will participate in two-day review writing workshops as part of Summer TRaC.

• Third grade students at PS 233 in Brooklyn auditioned for the school's Young Talent Music Program. Forty-one were selected and joined their 4^th and 5^th grade peers to receive in depth violin and cello instruction. The program reaches nearly 100 students each year.
  

• Dance for Life entered its 6^th programming year. Students in 10 elementary schools learned the benefits of dance as part of a healthy lifestyle thanks to the support of the MetLife Foundation.
  

Professional Development

• ArtsConnection’s second year of Artful Learning Communities: Assessing Learning in the Arts (ALC), funded by the US Department of Education’s Professional Development in Arts Education research program, will conclude with a culminating presentation June 16 at the Brooklyn Museum. The ALC Coaches and their cohorts have been working diligently on presenting their collaborative inquiries around formative assessment in the arts.

• This year, ArtsConnection's Professional Development Department collaborated with the Integrated Curriculum Instruction Learning Support Organization (ICI LSO) to conduct three Principal Training Institutes. Approximately 30 principals and school leaders attended each session, which focused on best practices for integrating the arts into schools.

Design by Cheryl Richards

SUMMER AT ARTSCONNECTION

The ArtsConnection program staff will be busy this summer bringing arts programs to two sites in Brooklyn/Queens and the Bronx. Summer 2010 marks our third year partnering with the Ridgewood-Bushwick Senior Citizens Council to bring arts programs to young people on the Brooklyn/Queens border. Elementary school students will receive instruction in sculpture, quilt making and puppetry through six-week visual arts residencies at IS 296 in Brooklyn. At the Family Life Academy in the Bronx, kindergarten and first grade students at-risk for promotion will be creating short scenes and puppets to emphasize literacy skills such as narrative structure and self expression. This program will be facilitated in collaboration with the Reading Excellence And Discovery (READ) Foundation.

High 5’s Guide to Summer

Teens will be able to make the most out of summer in NYC with High 5’s Summer in the City guide. They will get the scoop on outdoor arts events including free concerts, theater and dance performances across the five boroughs. $5 tickets to amazing productions by the Oberon Theatre Company, New York City Ballet and more will continue to be available on the High 5 website and through High 5's weekly newsletter, The Week in Arts.

Student presents artwork to Joy Behar. Photo Credit: Alan Roche

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

ArtsConnection milestone celebrated in style

ArtsConnection’s 30th Anniversary Benefit Celebration was a resounding success, raising over $570,000 to help keep the arts in the NYC public schools. Held at the American Museum of Natural History on May 6^th, guests enjoyed beautiful weather during cocktail hour on the outdoor patio, followed by dinner in the Powerhouse, designed by ArtsConnection Board Member, David Monn.

The evening featured a live auction, a performance by Peter Cincotti, and the presentation of the prestigious Janklow Awards. Four student artists presented framed artwork to corporate honoree Jonathan Klein, host Joy Behar, singer-songwriter Peter Cincotti, and ArtsConnection Executive Director Steven Tennen. As a parting gift, attendees received commemorative ArtsConnection 30th Anniversary books filled with photos and artwork from ArtsConnection’s work in NYC’s schools over the past 30 years.