CAL ARTS' PROGRAM HONORED KIDS GET LESSON FROM PROS.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer VALENCIA - After being nominated for four consecutive years, the Community Arts Partnership The Community Arts Partnership (usually known as CAP) was established in 1990,and is the first program of its kind in the U.S. The program links the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) to community art centers and public schools throughout Los Angeles County as part of an program at the California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts known as CalArts U.S. private institution of higher learning in Valencia. Created in 1961 through the merger of two other art institutes, it was the first in the U.S. has won the Coming Up Taller award from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities was established in Washington, DC in 1982 by an Executive Order from President Ronald Reagan. The Committee's role is to identify issues and develop initiatives in the arts and the humanities that the President and Committee and the National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Independent agency of the U.S. government that supports the creation, dissemination, and performance of the arts. It was created by the U.S. . Director Glenna Avila and a handful of other program representatives recently met first lady Laura Bush for the presentation of the award, accompanied by a $10,000 grant. The awards and grants went to 17 of 300 arts programs nominated for the honors. ``It was fantastic. It's quite the honor just to be nominated,'' said Avila. ``We were semifinalists before, but this was just a thrill.'' In the 15-year-old local Community Arts Partnership - currently with about 10,000 participants, junior high and high school students can participate in arts activities after school and on weekends. Launched with a grant from the California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency governed by an 11-member council appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature to advance the state through the arts and creativity, with an emphasis on children and under-served communities. , the classes started at the Watts Towers Arts Center and Plaza de la Raza before moving up to the CalArts Valencia campus. ``We started with a youth theater program that is still going,'' Avila said. ``We added jazz, world music, video and a public arts program.'' Students from local schools and the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. Boys & Girls Club have been able to study photography, visual arts, dance and music under the tutelage of masters in their crafts. ``We have classes that are very special - such as instrumental, world music, chamber music, West African djembe A djembe (pronounced jem bay) also known as djimbe, jenbe, jembe, yembe or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin covered hand drum, shaped like a large goblet, and meant to be played with bare hands. drumming and some Latin percussion,'' Avila said. ``The classes are all free. We even have classes in photography and digital media.'' Saugus High photography teacher Tammy Kornfeld got into the program during her senior year at Hart High in 1994. ``It's just an amazing program, taught by graduate-level CalArts students and faculty,'' she said. ``It helped me build my confidence and my portfolio enough to apply and get accepted at CalArts, and now I'm doing what I love at the high school level. ``There are so many limitations on high school arts programming - not enough money or equipment or facilities. More than anything, this gives students a chance to really grow.'' Kornfeld is doing her part to keep the program going, recommending students from her classes to participate in the photography and video classes. The program that started small has grown into partnerships with 18 community groups and 18 high schools. There are in-depth programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . The Community Arts Partnership or CAP also extends into elementary schools with a Share the World program, which brings world music and dance to any school within six area districts. More than 108,000 students in Southern California have been involved in CAP over the last 15 years, and many of them have gone on to prestigious colleges. ``We have quite a few Santa Clarita students who have gone on to MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Julliard, CalArts, Harvard, UCLA, Berkeley and USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. ,'' Avila said. ``Any day now, we're going to hear about one of them making it big on Broadway or becoming internationally famous.'' The $10,000 grant will go toward producing a promotional brochure on the CAP program, something organizers have always wanted but could never afford. For information on the CAP program, call Avila at (661) 222-2708. Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color in AV edition only) Instructors, wearing caps, and students participate in a Latin percussion class that is part of an award-winning Community Arts Partnership program at the California Institute of the Arts. (2 -- ran in SAC edition only) The students closely watch the professionals. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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