The Tennessee Performing Arts Center has been named one of the first recipients of an after-school creativity grant from Disney. The $75,000 award will be used to develop sustainable theatre programs in Metro Nashville Public Schools, building on work that began when TPAC was selected as the first organization outside of New York City to offer the Disney Musicals in Schools outreach program.
“Disney’s grant allows us to expand Disney Musicals in Schools, an endeavor of TPAC Education, to children at no cost to them,” said Kathleen O’Brien, TPAC president and Chief Executive Officer, noting that TPAC has delivered arts education for three decades, from pre-school through high school, by subsidizing student participation in its annual curriculum-based season for young people. “We’ve trained and placed teaching artists in schools. We’ve provided educators with free guidebooks, training, and resources. We’ve seen that arts education engages children in all subjects and crosses cultural and academic borders. You can imagine how energizing and encouraging it is for us to partner with Disney Theatrical Group to create musicals in Metro Nashville Schools—a new, totally different, and very exciting opportunity for our community.”
The grant helps to expand the current after-school program and set the stage for significant growth in the 2012-13 school year.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s (DTG) concern that low-income students in urban, public schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After two years of the program thriving in New York City Schools, DTG announced its plan to select a performing arts organization for the launch of Disney Musicals in Schools in a community outside of New York. TPAC Education was selected for that pilot.
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