New Partnership to Expand Arts Education Services for Children

The Greater Columbus Arts Council received $250,000 from the Franklin County Board of Commissioners as part of its 2008 budget to begin a new arts education initiative in partnership with the renowned TRANSIT ARTS and the Columbus Federation of Settlements.

Additionally, GCAC will receive $150,000 from Franklin County for ongoing arts education programs and the Franklin County Neighborhood Arts grants, small grants given to community organizations for specific arts-related projects.

Through the new initiative, called Art in the House & TRANSIT ARTS, GCAC and its partners will organize and connect local artists, arts and cultural organizations and independent arts education programs into a comprehensive network of accessible opportunities for students in grades kindergarten through 12. Special focus will be placed on the needs of children during out-of-school hours, such as afternoons, evenings, weekends and during the summer.

"Area artists, and arts and cultural organizations have grown enormously in their capacity to serve the education and development needs of students of all ages," said GCAC President Bryan W. Knicely. "This initiative was created to provide more opportunities for teaching artists, arts organizations that offer education programming, and especially kids who are interested in pursuing arts learning. We are so thankful to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners for their generous funds to support this initiative."

GCAC staff will work with the local teen program, TRANSIT ARTS, and the Columbus Federation of Settlements to offer varied opportunities for young people to gain access to resources, instruction and inspiration. There are two main components to this initiative:

- Art in the House: This refers to primary programming sites within several of the Columbus Federation of Settlements' facilities (Settlement Houses) as well as other neighborhood partner sites. Scheduled arts activities at Settlement Houses and other locations will be free and open to the public. Modeled in part after GCAC's award-winning Children of the Future program, children 5- to 12-years-old can begin their connection to creative thinking, leadership and lifelong learning through the arts.

- TRANSIT ARTS: TRANSIT ARTS, for young people ages 13 to 19, is about creating, inspiring, teaching, cultivating and attracting young talent. Originally known as CAPACITY, TRANSIT ARTS is a continuation and expansion of a long-running collaboration with the Central Community House. CAPACITY and now TRANSIT ARTS have touched thousands of teens in Central Ohio and garnered national attention and praise. For more on TRANSIT ARTS, go to www.transitarts.com. This component includes art-related activities throughout the Federation of Settlements and other community sites along with summer job and internship opportunities, touring performance productions and entrepreneurial opportunities in the arts.

"We are so excited to continue to work with the Settlement Houses and to partner with GCAC to expand our reach into the community," said Jackie Calderone, Artistic Director of TRANSIT ARTS and former artistic director of CAPACITY. "There's a natural connection between GCAC's experience working with younger children, and our focus on programming for young adults."

"Arts programming has always been integral to the Settlement Houses' work with families," said Pam McCarthy, Executive Director of the Central Community House and current President of the Columbus Federation of Settlements, which is comprised of Central Community House, Clintonville-Beechwold Community Resources Center, Gladden Community House, Godman Guild Association, Neighborhood House, Inc., St. Stephen's Community House and South Side Settlement House. "A holistic approach to improving neighborhood life, which includes arts-related programming, is important to our belief that social change is a grassroots effort," McCarthy said. "We've had great success working with TRANSIT ARTS, and we look forward to this larger partnership."

Art in the House & TRANSIT ARTS will begin recruiting artists and building programming opportunities this month, including opportunities at the Settlement Houses. For more information, go to www.gcac.org.