East Bay Center for the Performing Arts is a place where every year, 2,000 Richmond/West Contra Costa County youth and young adults discover their creative gifts through a rigorous artistic curriculum that is culturally relevant, supports the creation of original performance works, and fosters engagement with local issues of social justice and civic participation. Rooted in principles of the community development movement as well as the national arts and culture field, the Center is a trusted and neutral fulcrum of support for place-based action, optimism, and collaboration among diverse members of a complex community.
A brief summary of our programs follows.
1) Early Childhood Performing & Visual Arts Workshops provide free interactive performing and visual art workshops for preschool-aged children. Three 10-week sessions per year serve nearly 100 children aged 3-5 years old, plus their family members (most of whom are low-income), bringing the total number of individuals served to 200±;
2) After School Outreach Program: Annually, this program serves an average of 1,000 students through school-based programs at 8-12 sites in the West Contra Costa Unified School District; we also manage the entire Albany Enrichment Program for the Albany Unified School District, as well as provide all performing arts classes in that Program;
3) Learning Without Borders, a national model program: Center artists & public school classroom teachers receive professional development in integrating arts into the academic curriculum, meeting VAPA standards;
4) Year-round Main Site Program: Annual group classes in 3 sessions serve an average of 480 students each year. Year-round private lessons in a range of musical instruments to 120+ students annually. Over 75% receive tuition assistance;
5) Developing & sustaining 9 distinctive Resident Companies (involving 100± youth): Working with accomplished professional faculty and adult mentors, students gain intensive experience performing cultural masterworks from around the world, as well as in creating original works for theater, dance, music and film. Their work explores: Instrumental Jazz Music (Richmond Jazz Collective), Acting/Writing/Directing of Original and World Repertoire Theater/ Independent Filmmaking (Iron Triangle Theater), Contemporary Urban Dance (Iron Triangle Urban Ballet), Classical Anlo-Ewe Drumming and Dance (West African Music and Dance Ensemble), Regional Mexican Son (Son de la Tierra), Instrumental Chamber Music (Richmond Chamber Ensemble), African American Vocal Traditions (Voices of Reason), Laotian/Mien Ceremonial Performance Arts (Mien Legends), and Caribbean Steel Drums (Richmond Bloco). Companies annually perform at 35-50 "Call & Response: Community Life Cycle Performance" events with audiences averaging 10-15,000;
6) Artists Diploma Program: A comprehensive, curriculum-driven program providing multicultural arts & civic leadership training for our urban community with a current enrollment of 58 students, aged 12-18;
7) Growing Great Families: Growing Great Families is a workshop series in which families strengthen communication skills, learn to live healthier lives, and develop new knowledge about HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis C. This project is based on nationally tested curriculum, “Strengthening Families,” and on hands-on visual art, writing, and film projects. In partnership with New Connections, we serve 75-100 individuals in 3 sessions per year. (Currently on hold as we seek additional funding.)
8) Iron Triangle Legacy Project (ITLP) has been designed to tell the story of Richmond's Iron Triangle. The artistic work to be produced and presented (Fall 2011) is envisioned as embracing as wide a variety of expression as the interests of the roughly 20,000 neighborhood members might bring forth: photo exhibits, essays, short films (animation, documentary, drama) and plays, dramatic interpretations from interviews with residents of the neighborhood, dance works, poetry etc.