Riverside Art Museum Receives California Arts Council Grant to Benefit At-Risk Youth
State funds will support arts education programs for local at-risk youth
[ecko_quote source=”Caryn Marsella, RAM Art Education Director”]This program helps build their self-esteem, teaches them new skills, and is a positive outlet for them to explore their creativity in a positive and exciting way, while learning how to work as a team.[/ecko_quote]
Riverside CA – The California Arts Council, a state agency, announced it plans to award $12,523 to the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) as part of its JUMP StArts program. The Riverside Art Museum is one of only twenty-seven grantees statewide for this program.
JUMP StArts grants support arts education and artists-in-residence programs for at-risk youth within the juvenile justice system. Activities will take place in classroom, after-school, social services, or incarceration settings throughout the m
any diverse communities in California. Projects are designed and developed in partnership between an arts organization and a juvenile justice/social services entity, reflecting a collaborative relationship between the partnering organizations that maximizes positive impact for youth participants.
RAM will use the grant to further the impact of their Creative Horizons arts education program to benefit Riverside County juvenile hall residents and provide creative community activities to first-time and probationary youth offenders, like painting murals and outdoor sculptures, as well as art classes and museum tours.
“Art provides a visual language that can be powerful and direct,” says Caryn Marsella, RAM Art Education Director. “This program helps build their self-esteem, teaches them new skills, and is a positive outlet for them to explore their creativity in a positive and exciting way, while learning how to work as a team. I personally see the change in them each week they come.”
The art museum has a strong history of providing free, vibrant, community art programs that focus on economically disadvantaged and underserved residents, including low-income students, special-needs children, and at-risk youth.
RAM has expanded and enhanced their programming for these underserved demographics thanks to the generous support of The Community Foundation’s Gabbert Advised and Community Impact funds, the Weingart Foundation, Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglione, Edison International, Riverside East Rotary Foundation, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the Riverside County Probation Department, the Ellen and Clarence Peterson Foundation, and the California Arts Council.
RAM will, once again, be working closely with the Riverside County Probation Department to implement the JUMP StArts grant.
“The Riverside County Probation Department’s Youth Accountability Team (YAT) program has been extremely fortunate to team up with RAM to foster learning and creativeness in our youth,” says Rosa Castellanos, YAT Supervising Probation Officer. “Youth from across the county have benefited from RAM’s art programs, being instructed by professional artists on the artistic process. They have been given the opportunity to demonstrate their artistic abilities in a positive setting over the past several years. Many of the completed murals can be found throughout Riverside. Given the positive pro-social engagement and exposure to art this collaboration has had, YAT and the youth they serve hope to continue to participate in this outstanding and unique program.”
“The California Arts Council is committed to ensuring that art is accessible to all Californians, including our state’s vulnerable and at-risk young people,” says Donn K. Harris, Chair of the California Arts Council. “We are proud to support the important work of the Riverside Art Museum and their partnership with Riverside County Probation Department’s Youth Accountability Team. At-risk students with access to high-quality arts engagement tend to have higher career goals, better workforce opportunities, better academic results, and increased civic engagement.”
To view a complete listing of all JUMP StArts grantees, visit http://arts.ca.gov/programs/js.php.