Blog
Donor Spotlight: Baltimore Gas and Electric Company
In 2016, Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) celebrated its 200th anniversary as the nation’s first gas utility in the country. With such deep roots in Maryland, BGE invests in organizations that support education, the environment, arts and culture, and community…
Summer Arts and Learning Academy: The Name Says it All
Written by Barbara Krebs, Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member Seedfolks. Bizz Buzz. These are just a couple of the new things I learned about when I visited the Summer Arts and Learning Academy at Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle…
Hear Jazz Vocalist Renèe Georges on Young At Heart
On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down with jazz vocalist, songwriter, and YA teaching artist Renée Georges. You’ll hear about the artist’s experience as a Raelette traveling the globe with Ray Charles and His Orchestra, as…
Bomani Brings Hip Hop Poetry to Young At Heart
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, July 8, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Bomani. A seasoned performer, teaching artist, Director of Poetry Events…
The National Endowment for the Arts: a Sound Investment
Co-authored by Barbara Krebs, a Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member. We grow up in the United States hearing that we get what we pay for. Such is the case with investments in the greater good. That’s one of the many…
Arts Budgets, Job Creation, and the NEA
Written by Barbara Krebs, a Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member With all the talk of entirely eliminating funding for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) from the federal budget, a recent Washington Post Magazine article…
Coming up on the June edition of smARTbeats on WTMD: pianist and composer Scott Patterson
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, June 10, during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart.
Congratulations TAI Graduates!
We all know that artists can change the world. The Summer Arts & Learning Academy is proof of that. The Teaching Artist Institute (TAI) helps give artists the tools they need to do it. “Participating in TAI allowed me to look past what was…
Changing Perceptions: I Used to Think…
Written by Barbara Krebs, a Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member. Colorful sticky notes adorned the walls of the classroom. Like before-and-after photos of an amazing remodel, the notes told the story of how a group of Head Start teachers…
Baltimore City’s First Bloomberg Arts Internship Recipients Announced
The Bloomberg Arts Internship program is coming to Baltimore this summer, placing 25 Baltimore City rising seniors in paid internships at 14 local arts and cultural institutions. Students will participate in a rigorous six-week program, providing crucial college and career…
What Students Learn from an Artist in Residence Program: Cooperation and Perseverence
Step into a FutureMakers workshop, and you are immediately met with bright colors, texture, and sound! The room is a symphony of whirring and spinning, and you can almost hear the busy minds buzzing. This is exactly the scene in the art room…
Our Board of Directors: Bravely Creating Opportunities for our Students
We are reminded every day of the irreplaceable support we receive from those who share in our mission to transform the lives and education of Maryland students through arts experiences. From teachers and teaching artists to principals, parents, and donors,…
smARTbeats on the Radio
We are thrilled to announce a new partnership with WTMD to feature YA teaching artists on their new radio show Young At Heart, airing Saturday mornings!
Growing Up Green at Mount Rainier Elementary School
Children in Prince George’s County Public Schools know how to celebrate Earth Day! Through Growing Up Green, a PGCPS arts integration initiative, children in kindergarten classrooms learn environmental stewardship by experiencing nature first-hand, marveling in the wonders of our natural…
Planning for Excellence at Baltimore Design School
Before there is art, there is planning- lots of planning. This is something that 7th graders at the Baltimore Design School know all too well. Without it, the mural that these students created under the guidance of YA roster artist…
The Power of TAI: Transforming Education Through the Arts
Teaching artists are expertly trained to deliver and coordinate unique, age-appropriate, and high-quality lessons alongside classroom teachers at the Teaching Artist Institute (TAI). The program is a partnership between Young Audiences, the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance (AEMS), and…
Maryland Wolf Trap Residency with Katherine Lyons
Unique and innovative arts-based strategies are captivating young audiences in Maryland classrooms. At Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City, the very youngest students are excited to connect to literature with actress and master teaching artist Katherine Lyons through movement…
Bloomberg Arts Internship: Designed to Challenge and Inspire
Young Audiences of Maryland and the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance are searching for 25 rising Baltimore City public high school seniors for a six-week paid summer internship! In 2012, Bloomberg Philanthropies created the Bloomberg Arts Internship program in New York…
“We are not going for noise, we are going for the core.”
Written by Tea Carnell, an active Young Audiences board member, Chair of 50,000 Kids Committee, and member of the Literature to Life Fundraising Committee. Last fall, I was lucky enough to see Literature to Life’s staged presentation of Sue…
A Sense of Belonging: Ssuuna at Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School
Young Audiences teaching artist Ssuuna, a dancer, musician, and storyteller from Uganda, brought his incredible stage presence to Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School recently. There, he taught over 100 high school students African dance and drumming using the…
Honoring Black Women in Science
At the oldest public all-girls high school in the United States, students recently had the opportunity to work with fiber artist Pam Negrin to stitch the likenesses of important, black, female scientists onto one collaborative work of art. Along with…
Celebrate Black History Month Through the Arts
With Black History Month upon us, we celebrate the contributions, activism, culture, and experience of African Americans. Many of our artists at Young Audiences have designed performances and assemblies to connect students with African American history and develop an in-depth…
Young Audiences Summer Arts Programming Improves Academic Performance
Baltimore students in Young Audiences Summer & Learning Arts Academy Outperform Peers Baltimore City Public Schools students who participated in a new arts-related summer academic program from Young Audiences avoided summer learning loss and, in many cases, gained ground on…
The Inclusive Classroom: Speaking With Our Bodies
Skher Brown teaches world cultural awareness, body coordination and interpersonal skills through the basics of Capoeira Angola, an African-Brazilian martial art form that is a blend between a dance, game, and self-defense. In his new residency, Capoeira Speaks: Dancing for…
The Inclusive Classroom: Arts Integration for Every Ability
Arts integration is a valuable tool for reaching multiple learning styles across the curriculum and is linked to enhanced academic outcomes…
“You Are All Now 6th Graders!”
On an early Saturday morning this past fall, Drew Anderson, a hip hop artist, slam poet, screenwriter, producer and veteran school…
Getting Involved: Volunteering to Support Artists and Arts Integration in the Classroom
By Barbara Kesler, an active Young Audiences board member and volunteer and a retired Baltimore
More peace, more listening
One thing that people consistently say that they love about being a part of Young Audiences is that we welcome different perspectives and opinions.
YA Teams with Maryland Schools to Secure Maryland State Arts Council Grants
107 Maryland Schools Partnered with Young Audiences to obtain funding…
YA and Wolf Trap Present ‘Beautiful Surprises’ at 2016 Arts Education Partnership National Forum
YA is joining the Wolf Trap Institute to present Beautiful Surprises…