In 2017, Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) became the fiscal sponsor for Youth ARTS Alive so we could provide Free Summer Arts Education for the Youth of low-income families in under-served neighborhoods of Santa Maria.
YEAR ONE: We provided four weeks of free classes in Theater, Visual Art, Dance, and Music for 17 youth.
YEAR TWO: Five weeks of class at two sites for 60 youth. We produced our first student Performing and Visual Arts Fiesta for an audience of 125.
YEAR THREE: We added a third class site – Los Adobes de Maria, providing 225 class hours of class to 96 students in five weeks. We were the first community non-profit to use the Performing Arts Center at Pioneer Valley High School for our Arts Fiesta for 200 people.
YEAR FOUR: We were the only summer arts education program in Santa Maria to offer in-person classes. At the Maldonado Youth Center, we educated 60 students (outdoors, in masks) for 3 weeks in Dance, Theatre, Guitar, Ukulele, Drumming, Pottery and Visual Arts, ending each class with a family performance. Another 20 Los Adobes de Maria students received on-line art classes.
YEAR FIVE: We expanded our outdoor program to six weeks, educating 119 students, ending with student performances.
YEAR SIX: We provided six weeks of classes for 250 students at four locations, including year-round music and art classes for pre-K children at the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, and two Arts Fiestas for 450 people.
YEAR SEVEN: Six weeks of free arts education for 300 students at five locations, adding six weeks of art and music at Mary Buren Elementary School in Guadalupe, plus two Arts Fiestas for 500 people.
YEAR EIGHT: Six weeks of classes for 350 students at our five locations, plus two Arts Fiestas for 500 people.