Americans for the Arts, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the arts and arts education, has awarded the 2012 Arts Education Award to Milwaukee-based Arts @ Large.
The award honors the best in arts education program design, execution and organizational leadership.
“Particularly at a time when school districts face increasingly dire fiscal circumstances, Arts @ Large’s steady commitment and support has kept arts education at the forefront of school and community leaders’ consciousness in Milwaukee,” said Robert Lynch, president and chief executive officer of Americans for the Arts.
The award has been presented annually since 2007. Arts @ Large will receive the award in person tomorrow at the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Arts @ Large is the sixth organization nationwide to receive the award. Past recipients include Arts for All of Los Angeles, Calif., and Big Thought of Dallas, Texas.
Heidi Ramirez, chief academic officer of Milwaukee Public Schools, nominated Arts @ Large for the award.
“It’s humbling to receive AFTA’s Arts Education Award. But, more importantly, we are honored that Arts @ Large has been given the opportunity to use this recognition to bring to the forefront the critical need for quality arts programs and developing collaborative arts partnerships between school districts and arts communities across America,” said Teri Sullivan, co-founder and director of Arts @ Large.
Arts @ Large serves nearly 12,000 Milwaukee Public School students, 3,000 teahers and has provided contracted residency projects for more than 100 local artist educators this year.
“Together we can provide sustainable arts programming that partners staffed licensed arts specialists in each school with community arts educators. By doing so, we will ensure equity in arts education and build the creativity and innovation skills that all of our nation’s students deserve,” said Kim Able, co-founder and director of Arts @ Large.
