Art was my escape into the protection
of my own fantasy. Society would not accept me for not knowing English—revealed
by its need to place me in ESL classes for three years—but English did not come
easy. My parents came to the States seeking asylum from the dangers of their
home country and the process to learn the new language was slow and difficult.
Although I was born in the States, I spent the majority of my childhood with my
parents conversing in Indonesian. I remember the day my teacher called my
parents in to express her concern with my slow pace. I remember that same day
despising my school and the society that forced me to learn their language. The
school I grew to hate only got better when art entered my life. In art class,
English was not necessary, rather you were encouraged to express yourself with
the colors you chose or the strokes you made rather than with your words. It
was through my art class that I was first introduced to ArtsConnection.
ArtsConnection is a non-profit
organization that is based in New York City. They offer opportunities that
range from extensive professional development programs to free/reduced-priced
tickets to performances and cultural venues. However, their main mission is to
emphasize the importance of comprehensive arts in education through in-school
and out-of-school programs for students in public schools (grades Pre-K to 12).
One of ArtsConnection’s admirable goals is to “work in underserved communities
where children have little or no access to the arts and are often at risk
academically, socially, and personally.” One might ask, why is art so important
in education? For students who struggled to express themselves like me, art can
serve as an escape as well as a haven, but it can also do much more.
Art integration in and out of schools
help learners develop creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Through art critiques, it teaches students how to try new things, manage risks,
and handle failures. Introducing art to young ages is also known to increase
memory and concentration skills. In my experience with ArtsConnection, my
self-esteem and social skills improved while I was a part of their after-school
teen programs by connecting me with like-minded individuals as well as
professional artists. Their contests challenged me to connect with my culture
through their reflection-inducing themes. With ArtsConnection’s various
programs, I have grown from that wordless child, and with our donation, so many
more can too.
Their Website:
https://artsconnection.org/
Hi Mayumi,
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be really inspiring. I appreciate how open you are about your experiences growing up, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to go through school given your circumstances. Although I have little to no creativity, and I mean it I can barely draw a stick figure, I acknowledge the importance of the arts and admire those that have such talents.
As we discussed at the beginning of the semester in class, the arts is something that is often overlooked. I feel that as a society we are quick to place art on the back burner of things when we are posed with a choice to make. For example, we are increasingly seeing the arts cut by school districts who are facing budget crisis'. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 29 states currently define art in statutes or code as a core or academic subject. Furthermore, only 22 states provide funding for an arts education grant program or a state-funded school for the arts. That being said, arts programs are most often funded by special grants. When those grants run out or are not renewed, the arts programs are cut.
It is for these reasons that I feel that it's extremely important that art based non-profits be supported. While more schools continue to diminish their art programs, non-profits are able to still provide a safe-space for creativity and expression. People are hesitant to donate to art based organizations on the assumption that they provide "little value". Little do they know the impact they can truly have on the community. I enjoyed hearing your own personal experience of how art impacted you and I look forward to hearing more about the program specifically in your presentation.
-Francesca
Hi Mayumi,
DeleteI am excited to see your charity pitch this thursday. Like Francesca^ I want to commend you for sharing your experience with us through this blog post. I am a firm advocate for more arts and crafts, extracurricular activities and programs to be incorporated into our schools for reasons like this or for students to have access to these things through non-profit organizations after their school day. Sometimes it is literally that one class that keeps the student happy throughout the day or makes it worthwhile to even go to school. It can get boring to have all these language classes or math and science classes being taught at you all day. However, to be able to express yourself through music, art, sports, poetry or whatever helps the student best is essential in promoting academic excellence and ensuring that students are staying in school. Which is why non-profits like this are so important to children who need their creativity to be released. There is a study that shows that art promotes self-confidence,improved cognition, communication, and self-understanding. Our elected officials always try to defund these programs because it is not deemed as important as the five core topics we learn in school. However, these are JUST as important to students
“ArtsConnection” as you Charity Pitch title. Immediately, I was interested because that name looked all too familiar. ArtsConnection is actually very dear to my art because my mom has been the Director for Finance there since I was a little girl. ArtsConnection has been a big part of my life and I am a big supporter of what they do. Although ArtsConnection has never been at my school, I have been involved in a lot of their programs and events. I did their TRaC program which exposed me to many different dance programs in the city. I learned how to write better and explore theatre that I wouldn’t have been exposed to other wise. I really love this organization and am so glad/surprised someone even chose ArtsConnection. I even told my mom about your charity pitch, and she was so excited/proud.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to say that your other post regarding arts organizations and now choosing ArtsConnection for your charity pitch has actually influenced my mindset on arts organizations in general. I usually think when donating to organizations the importance of hunger ones or youth ones in general. Like we stated before the arts organizations that signed up, I automatically disregarded because I thought it was not that serious. However, art organizations are just as important as other organizations. I have started to look into more arts organizations and see ways that I can be a resource to them since we have been looking at it in this class.
Hi Mayumi,
ReplyDeleteI love the personal connection you have with art. I'm so glad that art was able to allow you to express yourself. My sister is an artist, as it's her favorite class; she likely will go to college to study art in hopes of becoming an art teacher.
I always find the arts important. It allows for people to grow and express themselves. I played the violin for over a decade in my school district and even into college here at Binghamton. It has allowed me to express myself through music. The furthest I have ever been able to express myself is writing/composing music and being able to have it represent something, whether it be something I went through in my life, or just a general mood.
Not being able to express yourself through the arts- painting, drawing, music, theatre, etc.- is so detrimental. When I hear that there are schools have financial problems and have to make budget cuts, it pains me to hear that the arts tend to be the first thing cut from the school. My school district was lucky when it came to budget cut scares, because our Vice Principal was one of the biggest advocates for the arts in our school (he would play minor roles in our school plays and occasionally play cello in our orchestra concerts).
The arts are also important because being able to engage in the arts can also help academically, which is why I really like what ArtsConnection does. Students who aren't the best academically tend to do better when they have the arts to rely on, as well as help them socially and emotionally.
I love that you were able to gain so much from your experience with ArtsConnection, and I hope that they can give others the same experience and benefits that they were able to give to you.
- Matthew Sturm
Thank you for sharing your story of adversity with us. I really enjoyed reading about how art helped you grow into the person you are today and am glad that you had the opportunity to participate in a good program. Art in relation to philanthropy interests me because of the tendency of most to overlook it when choosing where to allocate their money. I enjoyed art throughout my school career, but never invested much time or money into it. Recently, I have started painting and have started to see the benefits of using my time for a peaceful and fun activity.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned before, people tend to prioritize other categories of nonprofit organizations before art. This can be seen in our class when looking at our five finalist organizations. None of the organizations that moved to the final round of our decision-making process have to do with art. I was relatively happy with the programs that the class chose for the finalists, but after reading this pitch I feel that we could have considered a wider variety of services important. I believe that people tend to shift the arts to a lower priority because it is harder to see and comprehend the benefits of supporting programs like ArtsConnection. Programs that offer aid in the form of medicine or food take a place of higher importance because of the implications of their necessity, but this should not mean that art is not necessary.
After reading this charity pitch, my understanding and opinion of arts programs has changed. Your story demonstrates the value and potential that art programs have in schools. My perspective and priorities have shifted after reading this pitch and I plan on using this shift to better select organizations in my future as a philanthropist.
- Julia Diana