Arts For Learning

Nonprofit community-based arts education program affiliated with Young Audiences/Arts for Learning, Inc., a national arts education organization. Indianapolis-based Arts for Learning was founded in 1961 to educate school-age children about the arts. It is the largest and oldest provider of professional arts programs for children in Indiana.

Arts for Learning has impacted arts programming in schools and the arts community in significant ways. While it initially emphasized arts education through classical music, the organization later added programming by professional artists in the visual arts, storytelling, theater, dance, and language arts.

In 1972, Arts for Learning created a modern dance company that transformed into the highly regarded Dance Kaleidoscope. By the end of the 1970s, it had won a wide range of funding from such organizations as the U.S. Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Lilly Endowment, Inc. to create programs in the Indianapolis Public Schools and other school systems.

Arts for Learning programming includes performances, workshops, and artist-in-residency programs. Professional teaching artists carry out activities in and out of schools. The organization also offers professional development for teachers and teaching artists to become more effective. Each year, the program serves more than 60,000 children, youth, and adults in 29 counties across Indiana. Arts for Learning Indiana has over 100 school and community partners.