March at ArtsConnection: NYCT Grant, Artist Panel and Artist Spotlight!

March ushers in a New York Community Trust grant, an upcoming Artist Panel and a spotlight on a long-time teaching artist

ArtsConnection Wins a New York Community Trust Grant to Support More Students with Trauma-Informed Arts Learning

Continuing its strong history of support for the arts education sector, the New York Community Trust has awarded ArtsConnection one of eight grants to develop and adapt programs for students’ remote learning.  ArtsConnection’s initiative, Learning and Healing Through the Arts, will connect students, their families, teachers and school communities with each other and with opportunities to be creative and to build a sense of optimism to support healing from trauma.

Giving students opportunities for creating and expressing themselves while continuing to distance learn, programming will reach 800 students and their teachers in 8 elementary and middle schools in some of the areas hardest hit by Covid-19. Building on years of programming expertise and the robust online arts curriculum we developed over the last year, our program model encompasses residencies of 20 sessions and on-going professional development, split between the spring and fall semesters of 2021, allowing the work and learning to continue sequentially.

A unique component of the program is ongoing online professional development, bringing together classroom teachers and administrators across all school communities. Experts in trauma care will join our teaching artists and program staff to lead workshops in increasing wellness and socio-emotional learning.  Live-streaming family events will also invite students and their extended families, across schools, to participate in art-making workshops and to see professional performances that include an interactive audience component, building community within and across schools. Both the professional development sessions and family events will support shared experiences to alleviate trauma. This network will also help to sustain Learning and Healing Through the Arts programming, as school communities increasingly recognize the essential role the arts can play in this endeavor.

Register Here

Artist Spotlight:
Amparo Chigui Santiago

Photo Courtesy of Todd Jones
Every month, ArtsConnection will be spotlighting our artists who have been teaching with us for over 15 years. This month we’re featuring Amparo Chigui Santiago.
Chigui has worked as a principle dancer with Contemporary and African based dance companies like Chuck Davis, Fred Benjamin, and others. Chigui has been trained in many different forms of dance techniques, from Ballet to African, participated in workshops all over the work, and worked with many performing artists. In 1987, she was reintroduced to ArtsConnection as a Teaching Artist after previously having worked with ArtsConnection while she was performing in schools for Forces of Nature. Chigui combines her love of Dance and Yoga to share with all of her students whenever possible. Her mission is to impart life lessons about self-control, discipline and respect that can enhance the overall well-being of students and help them achieve their highest potential.

#WeAreArtsConnected #AlwaysConnected

ArtsConnection links learning to the arts for school-aged children and now, more than ever, we need your support to continue creating these connections. Donate now to help us provide art material kits to accompany remote lessons, seminar courses for our teens to virtually explore the rich NYC arts landscape, and so much more.

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