Now in its third year, Art for Progress’ summer program gives students the opportunity to learn about life as a professional artist, while also learning new advanced skills to help them achieve their goals.

Funded by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation with additional support from the Sansom Foundation, the program is taught by professional teaching artists with a long history of working with Art for Progress (AFP) in NYC’s Public Schools and other important projects. Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, the program will be funded through 2021, which gives AFP the opportunity to expand and grow the program even more. 

Over the years, the program has invited Grammy nominated musicians, prominent visual artists and high-level fashion designers as its guest speakers. It has been a valuable and exciting part of the program for students and highly rewarding for the artists. There’s no cost for students to attend.

Though the program for this summer will be hosted online, it will be one of the best yet, due in large part to Art for Progress’ newly developed  online learning platform:  https://learn.artforprogress.org, which was created to optimize the experience for both our teachers and students. The new website includes many valuable features which will enhance learning and promote better communication. This summer’s program is planned over four weekends beginning July 25^th and ending August 16^th.

The program kicks off with “Skills and Insights for Today’s Musician” with special guest speaker, multi-instrumentalist, composer Ze’ Luis Oliveira.  The following week the focus is shifted toward visual art with “Visual Art and Today’s Narrative,” and our special guest artist, illustrator Afua Richardson.  The third weekend, “Advanced Skills in Music Production” will focus on helping young creators and producers hone their skills in the studio.  Our guest Emilio China AKA Zef Noise will share his insights and experience as a musician, composer and improvisor.  The final weekend is “Student’s Choice” where students have the opportunity to suggest the program for the last weekend. It’s open ended and could consist of any genre including performance and fashion design. Our special guest artist is inter-disciplinary artist Belaxis Buil [who’s based in Miami, Florida.  

Some of the goals for the program include:

• To gain specific skills to help students progress and develop toward producing and marketing professional level work
• To gain insights into the real experiences of artists not often available in traditional learning environments
• To learn about the many paths an artist can take and to define their own path

This year the program will include the opportunity for students to earn awards for both attendance and participation. Awards will include music gear, private lessons and gift certificates for supplies.  The details will soon be announced.

Applications are now open. Please visit https://learn.artforprogress.org and apply today.

In these challenging times, everyone at Art for Progress is proud and excited to have this opportunity to provide this enriching program. 

To learn more about Art for Progress, visit www.artforprogress.org.