First internship group of Art for All, photo by Mickey Ta
In a first for high school students in Santa Cruz County, the Institute for Arts & Sciences just completed its first youth program, “Art For All.” Funded by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the program brings together 11th and 12th grade high school students from the Santa Cruz area to give them a hands-on, behind-the-scenes look at cultural spaces and exhibition design. “This is an arts program that exceeds expectations of an arts program,” says Emma from Watsonville High School, one of the participating students.
“Art For All” ran for four weeks in July and taught the students Installations, curation, event planning and museum education. They visited local exhibitions, including murals in San Francisco’s Mission District, the Cantor Arts Center in Stanford and Seeing through stone at IAS partner institutions Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos and San José Museum of Art. Students also had the opportunity to meet local art professionals to learn more about careers in the field.
““Participants have continually impressed us with their attention and commitment to our exhibitions and programs,” says Alex Moore, curator of academic programs at the IAS. “This program has brought so much joy and energy to the IAS.”
In this program, students were also asked to explore the intersection of art and justice. One of IAS’s goals is to creatively educate students and the public about pressing issues affecting our society using innovative approaches to art and justice. Their current exhibition, Seeing through stonefocuses on incarceration in the United States
“My main takeaway is that I have to fight for my own rights as a student and for my education to be informed about issues that are in some ways not mainstream,” says Grayson from Cypress High School. Fellow participant Ricardo from Watsonville High School drew attention to his contribution to the IAS exhibitions: “Plants at Lonely garden and the creation of a Audio tour (for ‘Seeing through Stone’) was a very special feeling because it felt like I was giving something back to the community.”
Following the success of this inaugural program, the IAS plans to host Art for All again next summer. “I am grateful to the Monterey Peninsula Foundation for funding this inaugural program and allowing us to expand the IAS educational mission to high school students throughout Santa Cruz County,” says Rachel Nelson, IAS director. “Thanks to this support, we have been able to provide these students with a once-in-a-lifetime art and museum experience.”
Beyond the importance of a hands-on arts education, students were also grateful to have created a community at IAS. “I’m most proud of the connections I’ve made and the people I can now call my friends,” said Natti of Watsonville High School. Another student, Jaden of Santa Cruz High School, expressed a similar sentiment: “This is one of the best internships I’ve ever done. It feels like a real community.”
