ArtistYear

Meet the ArtistYear AmeriCorps Fellows!

We are proud to introduce our 55 ArtistYear AmeriCorps Fellows serving as teaching-artists to 11,000 students in 51 low-income schools across Philadelphia, NYC, and rural Colorado!

Actor Jasmeene Francois is serving Queens NYC.

Pianist Art Williams is serving Colorado.

Photographer Elizabeth Hasier is serving Philadelphia.

ArtistYear ~ for artists to dedicate a year of service to our nation

ArtistYear—an organization born out of the traditions of service, dedication to artistic excellence and expression, and respect, obligation, and empathy towards our fellow citizens—is the first National and State AmeriCorps program for artists to dedicate a year of service to our nation.

ArtistYear’s mission is to develop, support, and place exceptional higher-education arts graduates across artistic disciplines at low-income schools as teaching artists, to ensure every underserved student in America has arts education through a national service arts corps.

ArtistYear Receives National & State AmeriCorps Funding!

ArtistYear is the first national organization dedicated to service through the arts to receive recognition from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and national volunteering initiatives. The federal investment will support 25 AmeriCorps members serving as teaching-artists in a year of national service.

Crystal's Service Year in Queens

Crystal Simon takes us inside her service year at Lighthouse Elementary in Queens NYC

“When my students had a rough day, I encouraged them to take it out on the dance floor, in acting class, or in our school play. The result? My students discovered that they have a voice, and their opinions and feelings matter.” Crystal Simon, actor and dancer, ArtistYear '18

“ArtistYear began as an idea among some of the world’s top performing artists — Yo-Yo Ma, Damian Woetzel, Margo Drakos, among others — to marry the power of national service with artistic talent. This big idea is engaging young people through the arts in learning the habits of citizenship — leadership, discipline, empathy and collaborative problem-solving — through a common language and enterprise. To no one’s surprise, ArtistYear has taken off and is expanding in Philadelphia, Colorado, and New York City.”

“We believe that the collaboration of ArtistYear AmeriCorps Fellows with certified arts educators for the delivery of instruction will result not only in growth of the school's programs and arts implementation, but growth of all of the individuals involved. ArtistYear's meticulous approach to matching ArtistYear AmeriCorps members with schools and educators will provide foundations for program growth that can live well beyond the member's year of service.”

“Every day we witness the power of the arts to transform children’s lives and are proud to partner with ArtistYear in extending that experience to more who cannot easily access this experience. The five ArtistYear AmeriCorps members joining us here this fall will bring to this community both the talent and the intention to make children’s lives better through art. We support this for our local families and also for all the communities to come who will benefit as this essential program grows nationally.”

“I want to congratulate ArtistYear and thank them for supporting as well as increasing arts instruction in our schools with their Program. National service programs in NYC like ArtistYear help address our City’s greatest needs.”

“The collaboration of ArtistYear Fellows with certified arts educators and teachers for the delivery of instruction results not only in growth of the school's programs and arts implementation, but growth of all individuals involved! ”