Arts Education Program for Troubled Teens Presents Exhibit: Dare to Dream
April 17, 2004 – August 1, 2004

 San Jose, CA, April 15, 2004 – This month a group of local high school students will experience what many artists strive for their entire professional careers —the opportunity to exhibit their artwork in a professionally curated museum exhibition. On Saturday, April 17, Dare to Dream, Arts Council Silicon Valley’s (ACSV) youth exhibit, opens at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University. The exhibit runs through August 1, 2004, and showcases the powerful and varied work of more than 100 young artists who participated in ArtsConnect. This collaborative program provides art instruction to at-risk youth located in alternative schools, shelters, group homes and juvenile hall, and is a partnership between ACSV and Santa Clara County Office of Education Alternative Schools Department.

Created in 1989, ArtsConnect places South Bay artists in 15 alternative schools where they teach students how to access their creativity and make art. The program serves more than 1,300 students annually and has become the largest provider of arts education for at-risk youth in the region. With diminishing funds for arts education programs in the public school system, ArtsConnect targets a special population of students and helps teachers meet state fine arts standards. It also fulfills the Arts Council’s mission in supporting artists with paid opportunities for work. Each year the Arts Council assembles qualified artists who then submit their portfolios of arts education curriculum. Teachers are free to choose their classroom artist(s) from this group, for residencies lasting between one and seven months per site.

“This program is an example of the critical role the arts play in many sectors of our society,” said Arts Council Executive Director Bruce W. Davis. “We know that arts education programs increase test scores, improve life skills and provide a safety net for many troubled students.”

Research from “Americans for the Arts,” a national arts advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., has shown arts education programs to be effective in reducing juvenile delinquency and truancy problems among at-risk youth. Arts exposure also improves life skills including self-esteem, teamwork, motivation, discipline and problem solving.

The Dare to Dream show features striking masks fashioned from palm fronds, bound books made from handmade paper using local plants and fibers, dazzling and dark watercolor paintings, clay reliefs and a musical CD written, recorded and produced by the students. A sizable photomural will display students’ painted work from the side of their school building in San Martin.

A reception honoring these aspiring creators, age 12 through 18, will be held May 14, 2004 from

10:00 am until 12:00 noon at the de Saisset Museum. Admission to the exhibit and reception is free.

ArtsConnect is funded in part by Cisco Systems Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, The County of Santa Clara, J.P. Morgan Chase, Poznanski Family Foundation and QUALCOMM.

ArtsConnect Alternative Schools

Advanced Placement Academy (APA), Advent Boys School, Bill Wilson School, Blue Ridge High School, Bridge Community School, Calero Community School, Enterprise Academy, The Foundry, Harold Holden School, McKenna Family Foundation (Children’s Shelter), McKinnon Community School, Muriel Wright School, Osborne School (Juvenile Hall), Ridgemont Community School, Santa Clara Community School, Stonegate Community School and South County Community School and Teenage Parents Program.

ArtsConnect Professional Artists

Mark Engel, Judy Gittelsohn, visual arts; Gertrud Turner, textiles; Craig Ward, music; Ken Young, performing arts; Erika Lann Clark, storytelling/drama; Red Ladder Company, drama; Olga Loya, arts literacy and Ehud Krauss, dance.

de Saisset Museum Information

The de Saisset Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 am to 4:00 p.m. The museum’s new docent program, “Explore with Me,” offers visitors guided exhibit tours by Santa Clara University students. Call 408-554-4528 to schedule a tour or for more information. The de Saisset Museum is located on the Santa Clara University campus at 500 El Camino Real in Santa Clara.

Incorporated in 1983, Arts Council Silicon Valley is a regional nonprofit arts agency, dedicated to supporting arts and culture throughout Santa Clara County by providing funding, advocacy and technical support, and marketing and fundraising services,to the region’s arts organizations and artists. As the official state/local partner with the California Arts Council and the County of Santa Clara, Arts Council Silicon Valley is now the largest nonprofit arts council in the state. Over the past 11 years, Arts Council Silicon Valley has distributed nearly $6.5 million to local arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, schools and community groups.