Arts to Grow

ATG Students Make New Friends in the Bronx

Twelve students ages 5-12 have been moving full STEAM ahead in our visual arts program at Hope for Us in the Bronx this semester, learning to combine art with science to produce fun and interactive projects. In our fourth semester with Hope for Us, a program serving a mix of students affected by sickle cell disease and their unaffected peers, Teaching Artist Kali Dinh worked with students to…

Cypress Hills Theatre Students Make A ‘Wish’

Witches, ghosts, and wolves—oh my! 21 middle school students at the co-located IS 171 and Highland Park Community School in Brooklyn are preparing to bring audiences on a fantastical adventure in I Wish…, an original adaptation of Into the Woods. For our tenth year in partnership with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, Teaching Artist Taylor Valentine and his students have raised the…

ATG Drama Students Stand Tall On Stage

Standing alone on stage can be intimidating even for most adults, but for 18 fourth-through-eighth graders in our afterschool Theatre Arts program at Manhattan’s Our Lady of Pompeii School, it’s become a confidence-building way to connect with their peers. Teaching Artist Meagan Smith begins each class with a recitation of the rules—One Mic, Respect, and Say Yes—reminding her young actors to take…

ATG Students Find 'Witch Way Home' With Help From Alumna

The fall semester had a fairy tale ending for students in our musical theatre program at Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation in Brooklyn, as they presented an original adaptation of Hansel and Gretel titled “Witch Way Home”. Our young actors told the story of two sisters, Olive and Ivy, trying to find their way back to their mom and stepmom without becoming witch food. The play, which…

Guest Artists Inspire Audition Prep Students in Cypress Hills

Our theatre students are no strangers to hard work and dedication—it’s what drives them to put hours of focus and energy into perfecting a full-length musical adaptation year after year. Since 2010 we’ve partnered with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation to harness those qualities to help our students navigate the rigorous high school auditions process. Through our Audition Prep companion…

ATG Theatre is Back and Better Than Ever at Cypress Hills

ATG’s musical theatre program at Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation’s Community Learning Center is entering its ninth year, providing Brooklyn middle school students with a full year of theatre training leading up to the full-scale adaptation of a Broadway musical each spring. In his fourth year at the helm, Teaching Artist Taylor Valentine is continually looking for ways to strengthen…

ATG Students Creating at Full “STEAM” in the Bronx

13 young artists ages 7-12 explored the creative side of science and technology this past spring and summer through our visual arts program in the Bronx. A mix of new and returning students joined us for our third semester in partnership with Hope for Us, where a grant from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the New York Tri-State Area allowed us to expand our program to serve children both…

ATG Theatre Students Tell ‘The Story of Ti Moune’ in Cypress Hills

Love, death, and choices were the themes of The Story of Ti Moune, an adaptation of Once on This Island presented by ATG students in the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation’s Community Learning Center on April 7, 2016. Performed before a packed house of parents, friends, and community members, our cast of young actors, singers, and dancers told the story of a young girl sent on a journey…

ATG Theatre Students Learn to Love Shakespeare at Elysian Charter School

Twelve Hoboken students befriended the Bard this winter, performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the guidance of Teaching Artist Candace Clift. The ten sixth graders and two eighth grade student mentors dove into what Candace calls the “greatest script ever written” in our semester-long theatre arts program at Elysian Charter School. “I have many years of experience working with students of…

It’s not just for kids: grown-ups can learn from the arts too

In doing our work, we at Arts to Grow love to think, talk, and learn about how arts education helps develop school-age kids’ skills in the areas of creativity, communication, results-orientation, determination, problem-solving, self-confidence and collaboration—and consequently, helps improve their performance in school. Recently, we found ourselves wondering: if arts education can develop these…

Pro actor Taylor Valentine teaches drama, and life skills too

For the past 18 years, Taylor Valentine has worked as a professional actor, performing classics from Shakespeare and Jane Austen, as well as new works at NYC Fringe Festivals. Arts to Grow is lucky to also have Taylor as one of our Teaching Artists: he is in his third schoolyear of directing the After-School Drama Workshop and Audition Prep Workshop for middle school students at the Cypress Hills…

Join Us to Help More Students Find Joy in Learning in 2016

In Arts to Grow’s first ten years, we’ve helped over 3,000 young people from underserved communities embrace the joy of learning through the arts. Students like Iesha, Nelson, Kiana, Shyan, and Yarielis have told us that our programs gave them the confidence to set high goals and the vital 21st century skills to achieve anything they set their minds to. As we usher in our second decade, we need…

ATG Students Explore the ‘Wonderful World’ of Visual Arts at Hope for Us

This fall, ten Bronx students ages 5-12 found inspiration in everyday objects as they explored new ways of creating art with Teaching Artist Catt Melendez. Through mastering a variety of techniques including collaging with dried paint chips, painting with string, collography, using watercolors on tissue paper, and printmaking with styrofoam boards, our young artists found new ways to express…

This ATG alum’s passion for drama was also the secret of her success

Iesha and other members of the cast of Under the Rainbow, an adaptation of The Wiz by the Arts to Grow Spring 2013 middle school musical theatre program at Cypress Hills.   Iesha first heard about Arts to Grow’s middle school musical theatre program five years ago. At the time, she was a shy fifth grader in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn whose only theatrical experience had been small roles in…

Give While You Shop This Holiday Season

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the holiday shopping season is already upon us as stores deck the halls and visions of great bargains dance in our heads. As you pick out the perfect gifts for your loved ones this holiday season, remember to shop through our partners. Each eligible purchase you make using the links below helps us bring more quality arts education programs to…

Kids Learn Resilience, Confidence from Performing Arts

Social and emotional skills are crucial for children’s success, but how are those skills best developed? In a Scholastic Parent & Child article titled “How the Performing Arts Benefit Kids”, Julia Savacool argues that the performing arts provide ample opportunity for children to build skills that will help them stretch themselves on and off the stage. Through the performing arts, kids learn to…

How Children Learn to Love Learning: 10 Years of ATG

All summer long, we’ve been celebrating Arts to Grow’s 10th anniversary by talking to students like Kiana and Nelson about the impact our programs have had on their lives. In the final installment of this series, we’re looking back on the very beginning of ATG—and everyone who’s helped along the way. Mallory King founded Arts to Grow because she saw a need: children in the New York metro area’s…