Blog
Imagine the Connections…
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member “What does the artist do? He draws connections. He ties the invisible threads between things.” —Anselm Kiefer, German painter and sculptor A few weeks ago, Young Audiences hosted an…
Belonging
Written by Stacie Sanders Evans, President and CEO of Young Audiences/Arts for Learning Belonging. That’s the word that has been on my mind. Our founder, Nina Collier, understood belonging. She felt music belonged in schools, that artists belonged in a…
Internships – A Crucial Stepping Stone for Success
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Classes may be just about to wrap up, but for 33 Baltimore students who have accepted positions in the Bloomberg Arts Internship this summer, a different kind of learning…
Preparing for Improvisation
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member The thing I like most about Young Audiences’ Impact Breakfast is that I never know what new insight I will take away from it. Sometimes I go home and…
I Am Ready: Early Learning and the Arts
When Quynn Johnson steps into the Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms at Margaret Brent Elementary School in Baltimore City, she is met with hugs and big, bright smiles. The students love that they’ve been learning to tap with the artist and…
The Power of Community: Professional Development in the Arts
An inaugural Arts Integration Conference held at the Chesapeake Arts Center (CAC) showcased the strength and excellence of the Arts Empowered Minds Initiative (AEMI)‘s collective knowledge and resources. Over the course of the day, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS)…
2019 Bloomberg Arts Internship Worksites Announced!
This summer, rising high school seniors in Baltimore City Public Schools will have the opportunity to work and learn in one of Maryland’s stellar and well-respected arts and cultural organizations through the Bloomberg Arts Internship, a program designed to challenge and inspire students. The…
Wring, Fling, Bling, and Sing
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member As a Young Audiences volunteer, I’ve been fortunate enough to watch a variety of artists at work in the classroom. And the results always amaze and humble me. Whether…
The Power of “What If?”: A National Residency Teaching Artist Credential
Written by Stacie Sanders Evans, Chair, Young Audiences’ National Residency Teaching Artist Credential President & CEO, Young Audiences of Maryland One of the things I admire about many of the artists I encounter is their ability to envision and create…
Step by Step: The Power of the Arts
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member As a pair of dancers performed, a group of elementary school children sat, crisscross applesauce, watching their every move. Valerie Branch, a dancer and choreographer with Young Audiences had…
Spreading the Word
Teaching a subject through a new art form feels less daunting after not only seeing a successful idea modeled in a classroom setting, but actually participating in the learning as a student. At Community Arts: Connecting Neighborhoods and Classrooms, the 13th Annual…
Study Shows YA’s Summer Arts & Learning Academy Exceeds Expectations in Supporting Academic and Social-Emotional Growth
Students in free arts-integrated program for City Schools realize growth in math, reading, writing, and social-emotional learning – especially for those behind academically. BALTIMORE, (February 18, 2019) – A new study shows that students who participate in Baltimore City Public…
Student-Centered Summer
In January, the sun disappears so quickly—its absence makes the air that much colder. It feels funny to reflect on my youngest daughter’s first experience at Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA) when, outside, it feels like it just might snow. Kiyah…
A Saturday Morning Tunes Giveaway!
Thanks to our smARTbeats partners, WTMD, we have five Family Four-Packs for the Saturday Morning Tunes Grateful Dead tribute show with Ed Hough’s Dead Collective to give away! That means five of our lucky Facebook followers will receive four tickets…
Inspire, Imagine, Improve!
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member A few weeks ago, I was happy to attend Young Audiences’ third Art Crawl, held this year at the Single Carrot Theatre adjacent to YA’s offices. For those of…
Smart Growth: Onward in Unison
Have you noticed how much we’re growing? Our staff is now 29 people strong! That collective energy is felt every day, but it really blew us all away as new and veteran staff sang together at the start of our…
smARTbeats with Jason Baker of Fractal Cat
smARTbeats returns to WTMD on Saturday, November 10 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews talks with Jason Baker, one of our talented teaching artists from Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA). Jason is a board-certified music therapist and teaching artist…
A Contemporary Armillary Sphere for the Community
Chesapeake Arts Center (CAC) Resident Artist and UMBC Visual Arts Professor Stephen Bradley’s work spans many disciplines. His art explores our relationship to place through ambient sound recordings, landscape photography, and recorded stories juxtaposed with artifacts discarded or lost in…
Arts Empowered Minds Initiative: Prioritizing Children and Learning
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member It’s all about priorities. There are only 24 hours in a day, and as a busy person, you have to prioritize the most important things. I could tell that…
Young Audiences Selected as Grantee of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ AIM Program
Young Audiences / Arts for Learning Maryland will participate in $43 million program Young Audiences announced that it is a grantee recipient of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management (AIM) program. The invitation-only program seeks to strengthen the organizational capacity…
Arts Integration: 1 + 2 = Fun!
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member When I was studying for exams in college, I would often create a strong visual image to help me remember test items. For example – the 6 C’s of…
It Takes a Village
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Field trip! Remember the excitement you felt as a kid when you got to explore the world outside your classroom for the day, file on the bus, and leave…
smARTbeats is back with Khaleshia Thorpe-Price!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD on Saturday, June 14 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews talks with the multi-talented Khaleshia Thorpe-Price. Khaleshia is a musician, actor, and Young Audiences teaching artist with a contagious and explosive energy for the arts that fills students…
Building a Network of Support in the Arts
The school year may only have just ended, but this year’s cohort of Bloomberg Arts Interns have already been hard at work for three weeks now. They attended a week of rigorous orientation and participated in behind-the-scenes tours and presentations at…
Andrew Greene Shares the Art of Ragtime on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD on Saturday, June 9 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with pianist, conductor, musicologist, and founder of the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, Andrew Greene. A new addition to the Young…
Summer All Year
Written by Jaime Clough The 2nd grade Baltimore City Public Schools teacher spoke about how the tools she learned at Summer Arts & Learning Academy have informed her teaching and transformed her classroom at Young Audiences’ annual Impact Breakfast earlier this…
Future So Bright
Written by Jahsol Drummond The 2017 Bloomberg Arts Intern and Filmmaker delivered the following speech at Young Audiences’ annual Impact Breakfast earlier this month. My name is Jahsol Drummond. I am eighteen and currently a senior at Bard High School…
It Only Takes a Spark…
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Spark. Ahh, now that’s a great word. Quick, simple, to the point. And it’s versatile – noun or verb – it’s all good. And if you’re a fan of…
Steve Cyphers Talks the Physics of Sound on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, May 5 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with professional frontman and percussionist, Young Audiences teaching artist Steve Cyphers. Tune in and you’ll hear why Maryland…
STEM Cells? Nah, STEAM Sells!
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Excited. Proud. Love. These are the three words that I heard repeatedly as I attended the unveiling of the mural that sixth-grade students from Brooklyn Park Middle School created. Though…