About Us
Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center (YAWAC) is the Southeast’s leading provider of educational arts programming. Part of the 32-chapter national Young Audiences organization, YAWAC brings the power of live arts experiences to Georgia students from pre-school to high school. From a small organization of nine artists in 1983, YAWAC has grown into a force in arts education, comprising more than 70 professional artists and ensembles that reach nearly one million students each year. We fulfill our mission – to improve the life and education of every child through the arts – by providing a dazzling and culturally diverse array of performances, workshops and residencies in music, dance, theatre, literary and visual arts. From Chinese dance to Russian gypsy folk music, from fabric collage to classic fables, YAWAC offers children a world of possibilities for learning about the arts and through the arts.REACHING EVERY CHILD
The arts are a vital component of a well-rounded education. In fact, according to a recent Harris Poll, 79% agree that incorporating the arts into education is the first step in adding back what’s missing in public education today. Thanks to a growing body of research, there is now ample evidence to show that the benefits of arts education extend far beyond their intrinsic worth. Studies show that learning in the arts promotes critical thinking skills, enhances spatial temporal reasoning, fosters the growth of positive social skills and provides powerful motivation for students to persist in school. The arts provide multiple hooks for grasping and processing knowledge in a variety of ways—verbal, aural, kinesthetic—so that every child can be successful in the classroom, and in life.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
There is a special alchemy that occurs when the passion of talented artists ignites the natural curiosity of young people. Our interactive assembly performances, hands-on classroom workshops and extended residencies are carefully designed to spark children’s curiosity and creativity, cultivate their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, promote self-discipline and kindle a lifelong interest in the arts. The chance to hear a string quartet, create a Chihuly-inspired “chandelier” from hundreds of plastic bottles or write a poem on handmade paper can be part of every child’s education. And, for many, a single encounter with the arts can be a life-changing event.
CHANGING LIVES
Exposure to the arts in all its many forms opens up new avenues not only for learning, but also for living. Multicultural arts programs invite students to “see the world” and to appreciate the differences that make each of us special. Classroom or school-wide visual arts projects challenge students to be creative and cooperative, while dance programs offer new outlets for personal expression to students who may otherwise struggle to express themselves. Students schooled in the arts will carry the lessons of acceptance, teamwork and self-expression beyond school and into their adult lives.
 |
|
Woodruff Arts Center Alliance Theatre Atlanta Symphony Orchestra High Museum
Young Audiences’ programs are supported by the Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) through the appropriations of the GA General Assembly. GCA is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Major funding also provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council. Major support is also provided by the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs. © 2001-2007 Young Audiences, Woodruff Art Center All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use Privacy Policy