MetLife Foundation and National Guild Award $215,000 in Grants to 12 Arts Education Partnerships

Partners in Arts Education Program supports collaborations between community arts education organizations and public schools

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MetLife Foundation and the National Guild for Community Arts Education announced the winners of the MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program. Grants totaling $215,000 were awarded to 12 nonprofit arts education organizations that will partner with K-12 public schools to provide sustained, quality arts instruction to nearly 6,000 students during the 2010-2011 academic year. An expert review panel also found that each of the grantees will employ partnership practices that can increase public schools' capacity and commitment to provide arts education.

The grantees are:

• Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, Bronx, N.Y. (Printmaking, Digital Arts and Photography)
• Global Writes, Bronx, N.Y. (Performance Poetry)
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Chicago, Ill. (Dance)
• Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Brooklyn, N.Y. (African Dance and African Drum)
• Inside Out Literary Arts Project, Detroit, Mich. (Literary Arts)
• Living Arts, Detroit, Mich. (Media Arts, Mime, Music, Performance Poetry and Visual Arts)
• Luna Dance Institute, Oakland, Calif. (Dance)
• MacPhail Center for Music, Minneapolis, Minn. (Music)
• Performing Arts Workshop, San Francisco, Calif. (Creative Movement, Dance, Music and Theater)
• Progressive Arts Alliance, Cleveland, Ohio (Literary Arts, Media Arts, Music, Printmaking, Theater)
• Streetside Stories, San Francisco, Calif. (Literary Arts)
• Zephyr Dance, Chicago, Ill. (Dance)

Click here for descriptions of each of the partnerships (PDF).

National Guild Executive Director Jonathan Herman said: "Over the past two decades, the National Guild has identified best practices for arts education partnerships that have powerful, long-term effects on students, faculty, institutions, and communities. The MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program supports partnerships that not only provide outstanding arts instruction but model effective partnership practices for the field. We are delighted to announce this year's grantees during national Arts in Education Week (Sept. 12-18, 2010) in celebration of the important role arts education plays in a complete and balanced education for all."

"MetLife Foundation is proud once again to partner with the National Guild on our shared commitment to making quality arts education accessible for children across the country," stated Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We believe that arts education is critical to promoting learning and increasing understanding of the world and its diverse cultures. We are pleased to support these outstanding programs."

In addition to the individual grants, the MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program will sponsor the Arts in Education Partnership Institute (November 3, 2010) at the Guild's annual Conference for Community Arts Education in San Francisco, Calif. The goal of the Institute is to provide community arts education organizations the tools, training, and know-how to develop successful arts education partnerships.

Other resources available through the MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program include Partners in Excellence: A Guide to Community School of the Arts/ Public School Partnerships from Inspiration to Implementation and Profiles in Excellence: Case Studies of Exemplary Arts Education Partnerships. Both are available through the Guild's website, www.nationalguild.org, free-of-charge.

The National Guild for Community Arts Education supports and advances access to lifelong learning opportunities in the arts. We support the creation and development of community arts education organizations and programs by providing research and information resources, professional development and networking opportunities, advocacy, funding, and high-profile leadership. Our member organizations collectively serve more than one million students, employ 16,000 teaching artists, and reach an additional five million Americans each year through performances and exhibitions in rural, suburban and urban communities across the nation. Their impact on the lives of students and communities they serve is enduring and profound. www.nationalguild.org

MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife to continue the company's long tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. The Foundation supports programs that improve education, promote health, encourage parental involvement and family engagement, help revitalize neighborhoods and stress accessibility and inclusion. Recognizing the vital role the arts play in building communities and educating young people, the Foundation contributes to arts and cultural organizations across the United States, with an emphasis on increasing opportunities for young people, reaching broad audiences through inclusive programming, and making arts more accessible for all people. For more information about the Foundation, please visit its web site at www.metlife.org.

SOURCE MetLife Foundation