ArtReach is full of dedicated, creative, passionate staff who do the work because they want to support youth and students.
SAN DIEGO JEWISH JOURNAL | SUSAN EDELSTEIN
MAY 31, 2024
I was lucky enough to work at a middle school in San Diego that had and still has a fabulous visual arts teacher and program (shout out here to Trish Cox at Muirlands) that our students enjoyed and benefited from. Trish is very knowledgeable, hands-on and hardworking; she exposed our students to many artists and forms of art and turned our campus into an artistic showpiece with murals and sculptures and an annual gallery of work open to proud and appreciative parents. However, not all children have this exposure and experience.
ArtReach is on a mission to change that. As everyone knows, visual art is transformative, and participating in it opens eyes and minds to a world that is centuries long and as long and storied as humanity itself. SDJJ connected with Anna Larocque, the Advancement Manager at ArtReach and had a few questions for her.
SDJJ: Anna, we know that ArtReach was created in 2007 in response to the educational budget cuts that eliminated virtually all funding for arts education in public schools. This seems like a drastic and devastating thing to do to our children. Can you describe the loss of the arts on school children and the ways ArtReach works to restore what was lost?
Anna Laroque: Drastic cuts to arts funding is the reason ArtReach exists. Art has always been one of the first programs to be cut from schools, but it’s such a vital part of each young person’s creative development. Fortunately, arts advocates and organizations like ArtReach continue to fight for more funding in the city budget to be allocated to arts and culture each year. ArtReach’s purpose is to help fill the gap at schools and with community groups that are lacking the funding and opportunities by offering free and low-cost visual arts education programs to anyone that needs it.
SDJJ: Your Mural Program was created in 2019. Can you describe its launch and purpose?
AL: The Mural Program began as a way to expand our workshops in the classroom to a larger project for the students to beautify their school. One of the school teachers we worked with at the time asked if ArtReach could help paint a wall in their school’s garden. We had never done a mural before, but this one project inspired what has now turned into youth-led collaborative murals at over 50 school and community sites throughout San Diego County. We work directly with youth and community members to dream up a long-lasting transformative design for their space.
Their designs. Some sketches are even added directly into the design. Once the final design is approved, youth and community members help paint the wall. We see the mural as a gift to the school or the community, a legacy project for the students and everyone involved. They get to go up to the wall, point to a section, and proudly say, “I painted that,” or “I designed that.”
SDJJ: Can you tell us about your Artist Residency Program? Its mission? Its members?
AL: ArtReach was built on our Residency Program, and it continues to grow and adapt each year. We work with students K-12 at schools that do not have existing arts programs. Our Teaching Artists develop curriculum based on the needs of the school and the students, and bring art into classrooms all over San Diego County. ArtReach’s mission is to ignite youth creativity through visual arts expression and community connection. We do this by teaching a wide variety of visual arts lessons, but we also incorporate social-emotional learning into our programs. We believe art and creative practice play a crucial role in human development and are an essential part of education for all.
SDJJ: How does ArtReach work to ensure that once avenues are “brought back” to the visual arts, students can continue to benefit from the experience?
AL: ArtReach is full of dedicated, creative, passionate staff who do the work because they want to support youth and students. Our Teaching Artists inspire young people to harness their artistic potential and apply it to their everyday lives. Freedom of creativity is just the beginning of learning to trust their work, build confidence and take ownership of their unique ideas.
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