Arts Outreach
Arts Education for children grades K-12
Garrison Art Center's Community Arts Outreach Program removes barriers and provides access to arts enrichment for local youth. Last year our outreach served 50 6th grade boys at San Miguel’s School in Newburgh (100% minority population). Through collaboration with Beacon Recreation Department, we provide afterschool art enrichment to 670 elementary-aged youth from Beacon’s City School district (56% minority and 47% economically disadvantaged).
Garrison Art Center’s Mentor Program supports high school students' learning, social relationships, and mental health in Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties. Students acquire skills leading to success in future college & career aspirations by pairing with local professional practicing artists. By following their interests and pushing their skill level to the professional realm, students are provided with opportunities for personal growth & support. Mentors also benefit from a sense of giving back to the community, modeling leadership, and supporting the art form they feel passionately about.
SITE, the School Invitational Theme Exhibition, is a collaboration between Garrison Art Center and neighboring schools that began in 1994 with just two local schools participating and has grown to include schools from within the counties of Putnam, Dutchess, Westchester, Orange, and Rockland. SITE strengthens and broadens the local community and the larger and more diverse population of these neighboring counties. The primary objectives of SITE are to expand the classroom experience and to reinforce NYS Standards for Arts Education by offering teachers ways to enhance their existing curriculum without the need for additional resources. Budget cuts in our public schools in recent years have been significant across the board but particularly damaging to arts education. For many students, SITE is the first opportunity to showcase their artwork in a gallery space, and for some, it is the first opportunity to go to a gallery.