TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Awarded California Arts Council Grant

This Week the California Arts Council announced a grant award of $14,400 to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley as part of its Arts Education Exposure program.

Arts Education Exposure supports attendance at high-quality performances and exhibits for students with limited access to these experiences. Experiences will offer deep cultural resonance with the student communities served and will be complemented by pre- and post-attendance activities, such as artist talkbacks, teaching artist workshops, and facility tours.

With support from the California Arts Council, TheatreWorks will dramatically expand its professional, "Oskar" Tour of live, in-school assemblies, reaching underrepresented elementary schools (K-5) with complimentary arts education. The popular tour presents award-winning plays about a young boy named Oskar and his friends, addressing topics such as bullying, stress management, and diversity appreciation. Each installment is created in partnership with educators, ensuring this collaboration demonstrates valuable and needed skills for Bay Area students.

"We are thrilled to be partnering for the first time with the California Arts Council," says Ronnie Plasters, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Director of Development, "With their support, we will increase impact while reaching new schools and students in Silicon Valley."

"This grant allows us to reach more Bay Area schools that have not been able to afford programming in the past," says Lisa Edsall Giglio, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's Director of Education, "We look forward to bringing theatre arts to these communities."

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is one of 124 grantees chosen for the Arts Education Exposure program. The award was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with grant funds totaling a projected $24,508,541 for 2018-19, the highest investment in statewide arts programming since the 2000-01 fiscal year.

"Arts and culture are inextricably linked to our humanity," said Nashormeh Lindo, California Arts Council Chair. "They serve as a universal touchpoint for understanding and addressing our societal issues-dismantling inequity, healing trauma, reframing justice, inspiring truth and shaping futures. The Council is humbled to support the vital work of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and its passionate efforts to make a better California for us all."

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