Share This! Like us on Facebook View our profile on LinkedIn Follow us on Twitter Visit our blog
 Newsletter Issue 30

April - June 2013

Musical Theater Students 'Ease on Down the Road' in Adaptation of The Wiz
Video Credit: Bryan Fox  -- Musical Theater students shine in spring performances at I.S. 171, Cypress Hills, Brooklyn
Last September marked the beginning of Arts to Grow's 5th year of partnership with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, as well as the beginning of our year-long musical theater workshop. This May, students brought peers and family members to their feet in standing ovation after three amazing public performances.

The ensemble (5-8 graders) was directly involved in the development of Under the Rainbow, an adaptation of The Wiz. Students honed their self-confidence, focus, and teamwork skills while working with ATG's teaching artists; dance teaching artist Mariano Martinez collaborated with students to create the choreography, and master teaching artist Patricia Runcie helped guide and support the students while directing the production.

Read more about what our students experienced.
Thanks to Moore Bros. Wine ATG Celebrates Donors and
New Friends
Photo Credit: Ulrik Pedersen
On May 15th, we held a wine tasting thanks to the in-kind donation of Moore Brothers Wine Company, who provided the venue and a delightful selection of artisan wines; the event was catered by Springwood Events. Over 80 donors and new friends of Arts to Grow had an enjoyable evening, sharing the stories of inner city children finding their passion for learning through Arts to Grow programs.

Clifford Dukes (board member), Waziri Garuba (board member), and Jake Brenner (donor) got the crowd energized by encouraging guests to think about how we can personally help more underserved kids in the best way possible. David Freeman (ATG teaching artist) also took some time to promote how his work helps kids 'learn how to love learning', and Mallory King (ATG founder/executive director) shared Arts to Grow's new expansion project, Growing Innovative Youth.

Learn more about Moore Brothers here.

Frame the Future Engages Its First Students  
Photo Credit: Mike Tramis

During May and June, Lowy Frame and Restoring Company's Frame the Future program kicked off with the sponsorship of its first Arts to Grow Visual Arts program at the Lincoln Square Neighborhood House.  25 students, who otherwise wouldn't have had studio-based learning, benefited from weekly engagement in making art.

Two groups of students, ages 5-8 and 9-11, worked with our expert teaching artist Michelle Hill, who led them through an exploration of new artistic vocabulary and gave them the chance to work with high quality art materials.  Students started with drawing landscapes to focus on horizon lines, seasonal color and vanishing points. Afterwards, students moved to the next project of drawing/painting seasonal fruits, focusing on perspective, color and shapes. They used quality craypas, Sharpies, watercolor, and specialized watercolor paper and brushes. As they painted, they learned how best to use and care for these quality arts materials.
 
These experiences were new and exciting for our students.

Read more about a special moment for one student.

Board Member Spotlight: Clifford Dukes
Photo Credit: Corey Hughes










Clifford Dukes' passion is finding ways to give less advantaged kids the
attention and educational opportunities needed to compete on the same playing field as children who grow up in families of privilege.  In his own words, Clifford believes that "providing access to a broad and balanced education for every young person is a moral imperative," and that "a solid arts education has proven to be a reliable way to open hearts and minds."  For this reason he was drawn to ATG's mission of providing underserved children with access to the arts.  He chose to engage in leadership service at ATG because he saw an organization poised for growth and felt he could add value to this process.

Clifford joined the ATG board in October 2012 with the goal of leading the ATG/ Youth, I.N.C. Celebration program; this was an easy transition, given that he had already been an active Co-Chair of our service grant/partnership with Youth I.N.C. for almost a year. Clifford comes to us with 12 years of experience in the educational field, designing and implementing programs for children in grades K-12.  His role on our board has focused on introducing more leaders and donors to ATG's circle.



Sincerely,

 

MK Signature
Mallory King
Founder/ Executive Director
Arts to Grow
Donate Now
In This Issue
Musical Theater Workshop Students "Ease on Down the Road"
Thanks to Moore Bros. Wine, ATG Celebrates Donors and New Friends
Frame the Future Engages Its First Students
Board Member Spotlight: Clifford Dukes
Quick Links
Announcing Our First Annual Report
We're excited to share Arts to Grow's first annual report with you.  Click here to read more about our progress over the past year and our future plans for reaching more kids.

 

Youth I.N.C. Celebration website
2013 Celebration Partner Nonprofits
Support ATG in our second year at Celebration at the Waldorf Astoria November 19th.