Toledo Community Foundation Grant Benefits TMA Art After School Program
Toledo Community Foundation, Inc. has awarded a $20,000 grant to support the Art After School program at the Toledo Museum of Art. “We are deeply appreciative of the support this grant will provide to Art After School and the individual students who come to the Museum to take part in it,” said Brian Kennedy, director of the Museum. The 20-year-old program provides high-quality art education and hands-on art making opportunities at the Museum for students four days a week during the school year over the course of 30 weeks. The overall goal is to integrate art into the lives of young people in a way that is engaging, exciting and educational. Participating students, who have little or no structured art education in school, receive formal art instruction and studio experience; get opportunities to express themselves in a supportive environment; gain exposure to artists and works in the TMA collection and are encouraged to visit museums and take part in studio art classes. To provide these experiences, the Museum partners with community organizations that include Adelante; Big Brothers/Big Sisters; Birmingham and Walbridge (All-Stars); Boys and Girls Club; the Friendly Center; and Kids Unlimited Academy at Old West End Academy, Martin Luther King Academy, Rosary Cathedral, Ella P. Stewart Academy, Discovery Academy, Lake Erie Academy, Keyser Elementary and Whittier Elementary. “Toledo Community Foundation is pleased to support the Toledo Museum of Art and its many partners in offering worthwhile after-school activities that can have such a positive, lasting impact in the lives of so many,” said Keith Burwell, president of Toledo Community Foundation. Students who take part in Art After School realize solid gains in more than art history from the time they spend at the Museum. “Students in the Art After School program develop skills in creative problem-solving and critical thinking while increasing their knowledge of the history, art styles, techniques, artists and works in the Museum’s collection,” said Mike Deetsch, who is the Emma Leah Bippus director of education and engagement at the Museum. “They improve their self-expression and are able to apply their newly gained visual literacy skills to other academic subjects.” Toledo Community Foundation is a public charitable organization created in 1973 by local citizens to enrich the quality of life for individuals and families primarily in greater Toledo but also in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. Grants from unrestricted funds support a variety of programs in education, social services, physical and mental health, neighborhood and urban affairs, natural resources and the arts.
Press Release Contact Name: Teri Sharp
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 419-254-5082
Organization Name: The Toledo Museum of Art
Organization Address: 2445 Monroe Street at Scottwood Avenue, Toledo, OH