Archive | News

September 28, 2023 Dear Friends, I hope your summer was restful and joyful! The new school year marks ArtsConnection’s 45th year working with the amazing young people and educators in the New York City public school system. We are excited to be back with them in classrooms across all five boroughs and at our new […]

ArtsConnection’s Liberated Learning Environment Framework (LLEF) is a valuable new resource for educators and teaching artists, underpinned by four core principles: Cultural Humility, Student Agency, Community Building, and Responsive Planning. A central goal: to ensure all students and educators feel valued and to foster an inclusive learning environment. Modeled after the teachings of famed Brazilian […]

Kudos to ArtsConnection’s Teaching Artists Jojo Gonzalez and Kim Grier-Martinez who on September 13 were honored by City Lore as “local heroes who contribute to the culture of the city and its neighborhoods” with the People’s Hall of Fame award. Rachel Watts, who introduced Jojo and Kim at the awards ceremony, said: “When I first […]

Downpour aside, Saturday, May 20th, was a beautiful day as we gathered on Governors Island (or Paggank, as it is referred to by the Lenape people) to recognize the young people that participated the Spring semester of ArtsConnection’s Teen Programs: Teens Curate Teens (TCT), OnTRaC: College & Career Readiness; Teens Reviewers & Critics (TRaC); AC […]

The 2022-2023 school year was an enormous success! We served over 26,000 students and collaborated with 79 New York City public schools. We are deeply engaged with schools and young people as they share their arts learning and creative expressions through performances, exhibitions, and community celebrations. It felt great to be in community at so […]

On Friday, June 16th, we celebrated the launch of the ArtsConnection Professional Learning website, teachwithartsconnection.org, featuring resources from our federally-funded Bridges and DELLTA programs with an in-person event in our offices. It was nice to gather with so many current and former teaching artists and staff who came to celebrate this momentous occasion, as well […]

Presented through Governors Island Arts, the seasonal Organizations in Residence initiative is an annual program that selects nonprofits from across the city to present public programs in an historic home on the Island. We will be open to the public every weekend from May 7th through November 5th and have special programming during our residency. […]

This month our Executive Director, Rachel Watts, receives honor for her work on behalf of NYC’s youth and the Arts Education field. On May 16th at a ceremony held at Aaron Davis Hall, Rachel was honored with the 2023 City College Arts Education Spotlight Award “for the work done to uplift equity, justice, and community […]

We kick-off our Governors Island Organization in Residence on May 20th with a celebration of the creativity of NYC teens.   At the center of our Spring Teen Programs Finale is the exhibition opening of “Naked : Truth” curated by this year’s Teens Curate Teens (TCT) cohort who studied the art of curating in their semester-long […]

Year after year, our expert staff present their work at arts-in-education conferences throughout the country. Attendees walk away with tools and strategies to improve their interactions with the young people in their classrooms, driving better outcomes and enriching the educational experiences of countless students (and teachers).   Erin Loughran, Senior Manager of Professional Development and Evaluation, […]