Power of Culture Blog
How Schools Engage Students: $1.5M Invested in Creative Projects
In FY25, the Agency is funding 300 school-based projects in the arts, humanities, and/or sciences
Amy Chu, Program Officer
Mass Cultural Council is excited to welcome the first cohort of Creative Youth Development (CYD) Fellows alongside the third cohort of Music Educators and Teaching Artists (META) Fellows. The CYD Fellows cohort is made up of out-of-school teaching artists of various disciplines and experiences, including (but not limited to) those trained in ballet, poetry, drama, and painting, while META brings together music educators and teaching artists from both inside and outside of the classroom.
The META Fellowship is a partnership of The Klarman Family Foundation and Mass Cultural Council, and the Creative Youth Development Fellowship is a partnership of Linde Family Foundation and Mass Cultural Council. For the first time, New England Conservatory is a partner in the operation of both Fellowship programs. Fellows in both programs were nominated by their respective organizations to take part in the two-year programs.
Through site visits, group discussions, and grant projects, these Fellowships are meant to build new avenues of support among peers, to explore creatively outside of their practice, and even create entirely new resources or research for young people.
Most importantly, we recognize how teaching artists devote their time, learning, and compassion towards bolstering young people and the arts, despite being under recognized and uncompensated, especially during the pandemic. It is important that the Fellowships are not framed as a professional development “opportunity”. This is a special cohort of individuals striving to dedicate extra energy to their practice and the young people they work with. The Fellowships includes a stipend because they should be offered a just compensation for this work.
In the fall of 2021, Fellows met virtually for a workshop led by revered teaching artist Eric Booth. Booth addressed the critical concerns of teaching artists by asking, “How do you support yourself so that you can support your youth?” He invited the cohorts to re-imagine their curriculum so that it centered the engagement and interests of youth, and to pinpoint their own areas of need that could use further support.
Next, the CYD and META Fellows will join a workshop led by Eryn Johnson and Anita Morson-Matra for a conversation surrounding Racial Equity in Creative Youth Development. Later in 2022, the CYD Fellows will also participate in a youth worker training for artists led by the BEST Initiative at Health Resources in Action.
As shown by their discussions and collaboration, the strength of this program lies in the bonds that form between peers and their organizations, creating a community of mutual learning. The CYD Fellowship and META Fellowship bridge the gap in pre-professional teacher training and the nuanced reality of community-based work. We can’t wait to see how these cohorts will grow in the next two years.
Alexandra Smith, Actors’ Shakespeare Project
Phoebe Warner, Artists For Humanity
Mushen Kieta, Artists For Humanity
Andrea Muñiz, BalletRox
Sharron Frazier-McClain, Barrington Stage Company
Tom Truss, Berkshire Pulse
Fiona Scruggs, Berkshire Pulse
Erich Haygun, Books Of Hope
Marjorie Saintil-Belizaire, Boston Collegiate Charter School
Li Cheristin, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell
Sara Pagiaro, Cambridge Community Television
Masoud Arabkouchehkhatibi, Cambridge Community Television
Eva Murray, Central Square Theater
Danny Bolton, Central Square Theater
Jack O’Hearn, Community Art Center
Lionel Blaise Jr., Community Art Center
Carla Hollett Winthrop, Express Yourself
Paloma Valenzuela, GrubStreet
Maria Pinto, GrubStreet
Genesis Rodriguez, Hyde Square Task Force
Pedro Cruz, IBA (Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción)
Rachel Hu, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Isabel Cole, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Deep Chinappa, Partners for Youth with Disabilities
Antonia DaSilva, Provincetown Art Association & Museum
Grace Emmet, Provincetown Art Association & Museum
Holly Tarnower, Rehearsal for Life
Lillian Gomes, Rehearsal for Life
Laura Iveson, The Art Garden
Jane Wegscheider, The Art Garden
Tara Bernier, The Care Center
Kahmal London, The Clubhouse Network
Abby Neale, The Eliot School for Fine & Applied Arts
Jennifer Turpin, The Eliot School for Fine & Applied Arts
Irene Shaikly, The Performance Project
Teresa Santana, West End House Boys and Girls Club
Heather Pereira, B.M.C. Durfee High School
Jacob Gabriszeski, Berklee City Music
Tomas Marquez, Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs
Marisa Giangregorio, Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs
Bengisu Gokce, Boston Music Project
Sebastien Ridore, Boston Music Project
Tyler James, Boston String Academy
Madeline Stewart, Boston String Academy
Anna Bradford, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras
Anna Byington, Bridge Boston Charter School
Rochelle Lewis, Bridge Boston Charter School
Camille Felisbret, City Strings United
Anne Lemos Edgerton, Community Music Center of Boston
Hannah López, Community Music Center of Boston
Tara Murphy, Community Music School of Springfield
Alyze Rabideau, Conservatory Lab Charter School
Rachael Chagat, Handel and Haydn Society
Jennifer Kane, Handel and Haydn Society
Nan Gibbons, Joy of Music Program
Ignacy Gaydamovich Grzelazka, Kids 4 Harmony at 18 Degrees
Greta Myatieva, Making Music Matters
Carleton Burke, Music & Youth
Sarah-Hadley Yakir, Musica Franklin
Bekka Eowind, Musica Franklin
David Rubin, MusiConnects
Kevonna Shuford, MusiConnects
Javier Lozada, Mystic Valley YMCA
Brooks Clarke, New England Conservatory of Music
Gregory Shannon, North High School, Worcester Public Schools
Kamila Irving Isanbaeva, Pakachoag Music School of Greater Worcester
Karolina Meireles, Sociedad Latina
Valerie Martin, Spencer Borden Elementary
Marcus Santos, Young Audiences of Massachusetts
Maria Elenita (Marlene) Del Rosario, Zumix
Christopher Lee-Rodriguez, Zumix
