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Arts Unite Us – Across Marin

Friday, May 17th, 2013

“Arts Unite Us” is a special initiative at Youth in Arts that brings students from Special Day classrooms and their General Ed peers to learn and create art together. ”Arts Unite Us” was first envisioned in 2008 by VSA Director Nydia Gonzalez, as a way to bridge gaps in understanding and interaction between students of different abilities and combat the isolation that many of them feel on their school campuses. Youth in Arts has been developing the idea ever since, creating pilot projects that provide amazing opportunities for young people to learn about each other and work together like never before!

This year, “Arts Unite Us” classes are in full gear at Tam High, Terra Linda High, Redwood High and San Ramon Elementary. Students from Special Day Classrooms are working together with their peers from General Education classrooms, learning art and performing together. The first culminating event from this year’s classes will be held at Tam High School, where students from Mr. Lovejoy’s Special Day Class and Ben Cleaveland’s Conservatory Theater Ensemble have been working with YIA Mentor Artist Melissa Briggs in Theater. They will be performing their original play “Camping Out in Nature with Friends and Family and Animals” on Friday, May 17th and Saturday, May 18th as part of the Spring One Act Festival.

Students at Terra Linda High have been learning Samba Reggae with Mentor Artists Stephanie Bastos and Nydia Gonzalez and will hold a celebratory presentation dance/party during lunch time on June 4th. At Redwood High School, students working with YIA Mentor Artist William Rossell will perform their original percussive composition, opening for the Advanced Performance Workshop Concert on May 29th at 7PM. At San Ramon Elementary, students from Gen Ed and SDC classrooms have been working together with YIA Mentor Artist Suraya Keating, working on their interpretation of a folktale, “The Laughing River”, focusing on Community and Inclusion.

Youth in Arts has raised the funds to provide these programs in our community from a mix of institutional and individual donors. We thank the Green Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Kenneth A. Lester Family Foundation, Macy’s and Target for their generous support of this program, as well as our many individual community supporters. If you have any questions about this program, or would would like to support programs such as this one, please contact Nydia Gonzalez at ngonzalez@youthinarts.org

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Posted in Arts Unite Us, General YIA News, VSA arts | No Responses »
Tags: Green Foundation, MCOE, Melissa Briggs, music, Nydia Gonzalez, Redwood High, San Ramon, special day class, tam high, Terra Linda High, theatre, VSA arts

FREE Sing-Along and Story Hour at Barnes & Noble

Friday, March 15th, 2013

Youth in Arts "The Paper Princess and the Piñata"

Join Youth in Arts at Barnes & Noble, Corte Madera Town Center, on Saturday, March 23 & Wednesday, March 27, at 11AM for a FREE story & music hour for young children!

Hear stories from Elisa Kleven’s Paper Princess series and Hooray, a Piñata! and Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm’s Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth To Life. Sing-along to songs in Spanish and English from Youth in Arts’ shows inspired by these wonderful children’s books! Perfect for children ages 3-6 and their families.

Plus, from March 22-31, a portion of all your purchases at Barnes & Noble Corte Madera will benefit children’s art programs through Youth in Arts.

Click here to download and print our Bookfair Voucher–give it to the cashier to make sure your Barnes & Noble purchase supports art for kids!

You can also shop online and use our Bookfair ID 11060756 at checkout.

Youth in Arts "Photosynthesis--Living Sunlight"

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Posted in General YIA News, Youth in Arts Presents | No Responses »
Tags: books, Corte Madera, music, Nydia Gonzalez, performances, reading, storytelling

Regeneration – Teaching Recycled Art

Friday, January 4th, 2013

Artwork from the Regeneration Show

Recently we hosted our first free gallery tour of “Regeneration – Teaching Recycled Art” with a group of students from Oak Hill School. Six students from Oak Hill ages 13-19, all on the Autism Spectrum, enjoyed the sights, sounds and textures of our gallery and workshop.

We started in the gallery, observing the artwork that has been made by everyday “garbage” or items that would be trashed or recycled after use, such as material, plastic bags, old toys, sticks and paper scraps. Then, Musician Nydia Gonzalez helped the youngsters explore the sounds that we could make re-using materials such as food containers and boxes by turning them into drums and guitars! Finally, students worked with visual artist Suzanne Joyal and created 3-D sculptural art using scraps of foam core and matt board, connecting them, gluing them and covering them with vibrant colors.

The “Regeneration” show will be up until January 25th, so please stop by to check it out, or make an appointment for a free group tour for students. yia@youthinarts.org

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Posted in General YIA News, YIA Gallery | No Responses »
Tags: Nydia Gonzalez, Oak Hill School, recycled art, Suzanne Joyal, Visual Arts

Great Storytelling and Music and Support Youth in Arts

Wednesday, October 31st, 2012

Nydia Gonzalez tells the story of the Paper Princess and the Pinata

UPDATE 11/29/2012: Our storytelling event has concluded (thanks so much to all who came!) But you can still support Youth in Arts with your Barnes & Noble purchases through Friday, November 30.

Download and print a coupon to take to the store, or tell your cashier you want to support Youth in Arts. And don’t forget you can shop online and enter the “Book Fair ID” 10921872 at check out!

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Youth in Arts will be holding a special Storytime with Music at Barnes & Noble Corte Madera on Wednesday, November 28 at 11am. The free storytime will include interactive storytelling and songs from past Youth in Arts musicals including Paper Princess & the Pinata and Photosynthesis In Living Sunlight and will be led by Nydia Gonzalez and Miko Lee from Youth in Arts. The storytime is appropriate for children up to age 6.

Support Youth in Arts by shopping at Barnes & Noble in Corte Madera, CA. In an effort to raise funds for arts education and opportunities for children in the Bay Area, Youth in Arts is working together with Barnes & Noble Booksellers by hosting a Bookfair at the Barnes & Noble Corte Madera store.

From Monday, November 26 to Friday, November 30, Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of every sale made with a special Bookfair voucher to Youth in Arts! Vouchers are downloadable here and in hard copy at the Youth in Arts Gallery. If you can’t make it to the store from November 26-30 you can also shop online and enter the following Bookfair ID at checkout: 10921872

Please help support Youth in Arts by shopping at Barnes & Noble, 313 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera, CA 94925, November 26-30, with a Bookfair voucher. Please download here:

YIA Bookfair 11.2012 – 6 Vouchers

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Posted in YIA Programs, Youth in Arts Presents | No Responses »
Tags: Elisa Kleven, Miko Lee, Molly Bang, Nydia Gonzalez, paper princess

Back to Basics At the Marin County Fair

Saturday, July 14th, 2012

Artists and volunteers with Youth in Arts provided five days of hands-on projects at the Marin County Fair this year. In keeping with the Fair’s theme, “Made in Marin” a celebration of our agricultural heritage, all of the projects honored the art and skills of our settler ancestors. We made rag dolls from rags and fabric scraps, wove bracelets using leftover yarn on a loom made from recycled mat board, and hooked a beautiful, soft rug with only feed sacks and old t-shirt scraps.

Every day at the Fair was a beautiful one, thanks to the tremendous help of our 30 volunteers and the creative energy of our thousands of artist visitors!
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Posted in General YIA News, Marin County Fair | No Responses »
Tags: art, Family, History of San Rafael, Marin County Fair, Nydia Gonzalez, recycled art, Suzanne Joyal, volunteers, Youth in Arts

Photosynthesis at the Marin Center!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

The Photosynthesis cast with artist Rebecca Burgess

Youth in Arts new musical Photosynthesis–Living Sunlight debuted today to hundreds of local schoolchildren and their teachers and parents at the Showcase Theatre at the Marin Center. The kids and adults were enthusiastic about the show, which teaches the science behind photosynthesis using lively music, dance and theater.

The musical is based on Living Sunlight, How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm, and we were thrilled to have Molly in the house today!

Also attending was local fiber artist Rebecca Burgess, who contributed to the development of Photosynthesis and also curated Youth in Arts new gallery exhibit, “Farm Fresh Fashion.” The exhibit and the musical are great companion pieces, blending art and science to encourage better stewardship of our earth.

If you’d like to catch Photosynthesis–Living Sunlight, a final performance will be offered Friday, May 4, at 7 pm. Tickets are available in advance from the Marin Center Box Office, or at the door beginning at 6 pm.

Photosynthesis Performers, Composer Miguel Martinez and Author Molly Bang with some young audience members

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Posted in YIA Programs, Youth in Arts Presents | No Responses »
Tags: dance, Lily Oglesby, Miguel Martinez, music, Nydia Gonzalez, performances, Photosynthesis, theatre

Moving to the Beat at Terra Linda High

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

If you walk down the halls of Terra Linda High school on a Tuesday morning, you may just hear the sounds of a Tabla, Doumbek, shakers and tamborines playing joyful beats accompanied by the gleeful cheers of students in Rachel Hughes Special Day Class. YIA Mentor Artists William Rossel and Nydia Gonzalez have been working with students for 10 weeks, practicing a variety of basic rhythms and swaying movements which they will present for attending family and friends in a few weeks.

Every student in this class has enjoyed the activities, finding the one that brings them the most joy:

Gihea rocks out to the beat with her upbeat movements, waving her scarves and showing off her moves.

Brian loves to dance with the “friend of the day” (usually a soft stuffy that Nydia brings in to assist with engagement and focus), and his twin brother Neil loves to play percussion instruments on the peripheral of the classroom.

Maria eagerly awaits the moment in which she can sway her hips to the rhythms in a fluid movement while waving the scarves and smiling.

Demelza always insists she is too shy to do her “solo”, but ends up breaking out her special choreography that usually includes some serious hip shaking and the “genie” move, named by a classmate from last year.

Savannah loves to play along to the beat and when she does her solo dance, she smiles and giggles with contagious joy.

Graham, has limited fine motor skills, but always waves his arms in rhythm and shares the biggest smile when it is his turn to shine.

Alessandra absolutely LOVES to help us keep count of the rhythms and her signature dance move is a spin.

Needless to say, we have a blast playing music and dancing with this talented and enthusiastic group of students. Thank you to the teacher Rachel Hughes and all of the para-educators and aides who are so loving, supportive and willing to get down with our groves at Terra Linda High School!!

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Posted in General YIA News, VSA arts | No Responses »
Tags: autism, dance, Down Syndrom, Marin County Office of Education, music, Nydia Gonzalez, Rachel Hughes, Special Education, Terra Linda High, VSA arts, William Rossel, Youth in Arts

Seeking Young Artists with Disabilities

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

Youth in Arts is offering three professional-level apprenticeships for young artists who would like to gain experience as a teaching artist and work as an apprentice. Apprentices must be enrolled in college or an equivalent educational program, have a documented disability and be of ages 18-25.
Apprentices will assist Mentor Artists (some of whom are also individuals with disabilities) in teaching dance, theater or visual art through “Arts Unite Us,” an innovative project at Harding Elementary in El Cerrito, California, that brings K-5 students with and without disabilities together to create original art side-by-side.

“Arts Unite Us” Apprentices will have a unique opportunity to acquire direct experience teaching the arts, while also serving as role models for children participating in the Harding project. Apprentices will also attend workshops in classroom management, arts teaching techniques, working with learners of all abilities, documenting student learning in the arts and developing a professional portfolio.

The project will take place from February to August of 2012.

We are offering 3 apprenticeship positions in Dance and Theater. These apprenticeships are offered by Youth in Arts through the Rosemary Kennedy Internship Initiative. A stipend will be provided for each apprentice selected for the program.

Application Deadline: April 5th, 2012

Qualifications:

Performing artists, active in the arts field.
Enrolled in college or an equivalent educational program; or an artistic training program.
Have a documented disability.
18-25 years of age.
Available to attend professional development workshops and teach during some school days.

If you would like to apply for this apprenticeship, you may do so by filling out our online form.

Contact: Nydia Gonzalez at ngonzalez@youthinarts.org

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Tags: apprentice, artist, artists, Arts Unite Us, dance, disabilities, disability, Nydia Gonzalez, teaching artist, Theater, Visual Arts, VSA arts, youth

Parent Training in Castro Valley

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Suzanne Joyal and Nydia Gonzalez travelled to Castro Valley to offer a hands-on workshop to parents of the Castro Valley Parents Cooperative Preschool. The one-hour workshop introduced parents to a multitude of strategies to introduce preschoolers to art.

We both arrived wearing our FAVORITE piece of preschool jewelry: the mini-harmonica is always a hit!

We asked the question “How do we use our senses when we create?” and then explored first-hand techniques to help children experiment and explore this fundamental question.
Parents were able to create Sticky Texture Collages using contact paper, many different shapes and textures of fabric, special crayons to draw on all different textures, and magic gold.
We created a Word Wall of all of the wonderful ideas we explored: sticky, smooth, shiny, furry, scratchy, etc. Nydia introduced music and movement when she asked “How does Scratchy SOUND?” “How do we does bumpy look when we move?”

: Applying the “Magic Gold”

: The finished collage: what shapes do you see? Is it still sticky?

: Close-ups. What do you See? What do you Wonder?

: Which part is bumpy? Which part is smooth?

: More Proud Parents

: Sticking shapes on contact paper

: Raise you hand if you still need more time

: Word Walls: what textures, shapes, or colors do you feel?

: Coloring on top with Crayola Twistables: How does it feel when you color on different surfaces?

: We both arrived wearing our FAVORITE piece of preschool jewelry: the mini-harmonica is always a hit!

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Posted in General YIA News, Professional Development | No Responses »
Tags: arts integration, community, dance, Movement, Nydia Gonzalez, parent training, professional development, Suzanne Joyal, Visual Arts

All Hands on Deck at Short School & Laurel Dell!

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Youth in Arts is embarking on a school-wide Mural Project at Laurel Dell and Short School in San Rafael. YIA Mentor Artist Angela Baker will be working with students and teachers to create two school murals with the theme of “Our World”. In preparation for this project, teachers came together with YIA Mentor Artists Nydia Gonzalez and Angela Baker to explore the theme of the project and how it can connect with daily classroom curricula.

Working from YIA’s “I Am From…” lesson plan, the group of educators explored identity, culture, community and core values, culminating in a group project. Using tracings of their hands, words, images, symbols and some glue, each group created a visual representation of their values and goals as a community of educators.

Now, it’s the kids’ turn! Students will work with their teachers and Angela to conceptualize, design and create their school mural. We all look forward to seeing their work!