Engaged Communities

Young Audiences Awarded $4.4M from U.S. Department of Education to Launch National ‘ARTISTIC’ Initiative in High-Need Schools

Dec 8, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

DECEMBER 8, 2025  – New York, NY – Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA), the nation’s largest arts in education network, has been awarded a $4.4 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) program to launch ARTISTIC (America Responds To In-School Teaching with Innovation and Creativity), a five-year…

Announcing Affiliate Development Fund (ADF) Grant Awards for 2025

Sep 19, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

  Young Audiences | Arts for Learning (YA) has awarded three Affiliate Development Fund (ADF) grants for 2025 to support innovative projects across the national Young Audiences Arts for Learning network (YA Network). Each year, the ADF program supports initiatives at the affiliate level that can serve as models to build the capacity of the YA Network as a whole. Congrats to the…

CAPE Bringing New Afterschool Arts Classes to Chicago Elementary School

Sep 16, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

Students at a Chicago elementary school are beginning afterschool art programs this week with the help of Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) affiliate Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE). The new programming at Henry H. Nash Elementary School of Fine & Performing Arts, located in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, is funded by a $200,000 grant from…

Arts for Learning Maryland to Operate Charter School in Baltimore

Jun 11, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

Arts for Learning Maryland (A4L MD), the Baltimore-based affiliate of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, is preparing to open a new public charter school following approval from the Baltimore County Board of Education.    Dream Academy Charter School will open for student enrollment in 2026, operating in partnership with Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle School (TJEMS),…

US House Resolution Designates April 13-26 as National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week 2025

Apr 24, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – WASHINGTON, DC – Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) has introduced a Resolution to the House of Representatives expressing support for the designation of April 13–26, 2025, as National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week (YA Week). The designation of YA Week honors the contributions Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) has made to…

Young Audiences Arts for Learning Will Celebrate National YA Week April 13–26, 2025, To Raise Awareness & Support for Arts in Education

Mar 18, 2025 | lauren@ya.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA), the nation’s largest arts in education network, is proud to announce that National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week (YA Week) 2025 will be held April 13–26. An annual advocacy and awareness initiative first championed by Conductor Leonard Bernstein in 1971…

Welcoming Affiliate Colleagues to NYC for YA's Transforming Education through the Arts (TEA) Retreat

Aug 1, 2024 | lauren@ya.org

  Last week (July 22-24), the National Office of Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) had the honor of welcoming 16 network colleagues from five YA affiliates to our New York City headquarters for our first Transforming Education through the Arts (TEA) Retreat. Participating affiliates included Arts for Learning Connecticut…

Celebrate Freedom: Juneteenth 2024

Jun 18, 2024 | lauren@ya.org

Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of formerly enslaved Americans in Galveston, Texas. The Young Audiences Arts for Learning network is proud to celebrate this national holiday with arts-integrated programs and events for young people and their families. Read on for some of this year's highlights. We'll continue to update this page with events and activities. Arts & Learning…

Young Audiences Arts for Learning and Four YA Affiliates Approved for National Endowment for the Arts Grants Totaling $210,000

May 15, 2024 | lauren@ya.org

MAY 15, 2024 – New York, NY – In its second major grant announcement of fiscal year 2024, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is pleased to name the organizations with projects approved for federal funding through the agency. Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) is included in the funding announcement, along with four affiliates from the National…

Young Audiences Arts for Learning Will Celebrate National YA Week March 24 - April 6, 2024, To Raise Awareness & Support for Arts in Education

Mar 7, 2024 | lauren@ya.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA), the nation’s largest arts in education network, is proud to announce that National Young Audiences Arts for Learning Week (YA Week) 2024 will be held March 24 - April 6. An annual advocacy and awareness initiative first championed by Conductor Leonard Bernstein in 1971, YA Week…