SCVNews.com — Hart School District Press Release

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman announced that CalArts Community Arts Partnership is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. CAP is recommended for a $45,000 grant to support its CAP summer Arts Program.

The CAP Summer Arts Program is a three-week program of day-long classes in visual arts, dance, creative writing, animation, digital filmmaking, theater, photography, and music led by CalArts faculty, student, and alumni instructors. Students will learn from professional artists, experience art at Los Angeles arts institutions, and create original art that is presented to the public at the culmination of the program.

Launched more than 22 years ago, CAP is the youth arts education program of California Institute of the Arts, an internationally acclaimed Los Angeles-area arts institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs in the visual, performing, media and literary arts. CAP is a national model for how schools, communities and organizations can partner to overcome shrinking budgets and create learning opportunities of exceptional quality.

“I’m proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including CAP,” said Chairman Landesman. “These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences, and exemplary education programs.”

“The CAP program is honored to be one of the arts organizations supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. The CAP Summer Arts Program places high school students in an intensive studio environment during the summer, when teenagers can focus on learning, collaborating, and creating new works of art over long periods of time,” said CAP director Glenna Avila.

In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $23.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

Established in 1990, CAP offers youth classes and workshops spanning all genres of the arts, free of charge, at over 60 public schools and community organizations. As the largest college-based arts education program in Los Angeles County, CAP’s mission is to provide students in kindergarten through high school, many from traditionally underserved areas, with access to arts education. CAP ensures equity in education by helping young people gain access to arts learning opportunities in the neighborhoods in which they live.