Arts education is synonymous with community activism. Without arts educators, I would have been another statistic as a young Latinx child growing up in a tough neighborhood. The arts, in particular dance, saved me. The arts fill a void in communities forgotten, artists go into spaces others fear, and in that bravery, offer safety, possibility and transformation.
Eduardo Vilaro
Artistic Director & CEO, Ballet Hispanico
Inspired to take action?
Read our most recent live testimony to the New York City Council
Check out our most recent letter to Chancellor Banks signed by 100+ arts and cultural organizations
Hear from teachers, cultural workers, and policymakers at 2021 Legislative Briefing: Arts Are Essential
Know the facts about arts education in NYC and NYS to share with policymakers and funders
Learn the Roundtable’s priorities for arts education to help us reach equity in arts access for all students
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Uplifting arts teacher voices and stories…
New York City’s museums, performing arts and cultural institutions dedicate themselves to arts education, knowing this work is crucial for our communities to flourish. But we also know we cannot succeed in this work without our essential partners: New York City’s schools. For the sake of our young people and our neighborhoods, for the sake of equity, for the sake of New York’s future, we ask that arts education in the schools be a funding priority.
Thelma Golden Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem
The arts give us a crucial social education– teaching us about ourselves, our cultural histories; they teach us empathy and collaboration. We must fight for every New York child to have equal access to the arts, to great teachers, to the cultural institutions in their backyards. Arts education is the backbone of a just world, and it is not optional.
Chinita Pointer, Executive Director of the Noel Pointer Foundation
The impact of the arts goes beyond creative expression. It is necessary for the development of each student so they can be better, empathetic contributors to the world. If we don’t support theater education now, we risk the chance of not inspiring the next generation of innovative artists and leaders. The theater is a crucial, safe space for all our youth to express themselves collaboratively, and develop lifelong skills of empathy.
Jelani Alladin, Broadway Artist
Arts and culture provide an outlet and environment in which to cope with stress, conflict, sorrow, and trauma; never is the need to express ourselves more urgent than during crisis. Cultural programming is crucial to recovery in every way. We have not all borne the weight of this crisis equally- we must not bear the weight of financial cuts inequitably as well. A crucial way to support our communities is through arts education; the City Council and City Hall must protect our city’s arts teachers and its creative youth.
Laura Raicovich, Interim Director of the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art.
Theater is a big part of my life. Without it, I don’t know that I would be happy. It is my passion, and what I intend to pursue. With all the hardships that come with high school and home life, rehearsals and being on stage is a safe space. There is nothing that compares to that feeling of being able to present the hard work of you and your cast live on a stage. Not only that, but being able to collaborate and learn from professional performers, with opportunities such as the Shubert Festival is truly amazing and inspiring. I hope that this program remains next year.
Esme Mitchell, a Freshman at Curtis High School in Staten Island
Arts education is important for every child to have, whether or not they want to pursue it as a career. Having the opportunity to see themselves as a performer boosts their confidence, and that in turn translates into the classroom and into other parts of their life. Dance and the arts complete the whole child.
Ella Rosewood, Dance Teacher at I.S. 347 School of Humanities in Bushwick
Our school thrives on the arts. The arts are not only an outlet for our students, it is something that carries across all aspects of their lives. In our school, arts education is not just a single class during the day, it’s embedded into our entire curriculum as it’s a way to tap into each child’s different learning style.
Rachel McCaulsky, Arts Coordinator at P396K in Brownsville