THOMPSON ARTS CENTER AT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Photo: Da Ping Luo
Photo: Da Ping Luo Above: Students attend the student matinee of an Up Right performance as part of Nick Cave’s The Let Go. At left: Students celebrate the conclusion of a student-only matinee.
Part American palace, part industrial shed, the Armory supports unconventional works in the performing and visual arts that cannot be fully realized in a traditional proscenium theater, concert hall, or gallery. With its soaring, 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall and its period rooms by Gilded Age designers, the Armory enables artists to create, students to explore, and wide audiences to experience epic, adventurous work that cannot be done elsewhere in New York. Arts Education is one of the three prime missions of the Armory, offering a unique environment for student engagement by allowing world-class artists to think outside the box, creating
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immersive environments free from the constraints of fixed seats, proscenium, or stage. The lack of formality has minimized these perceived barriers to entry, allowing students to absorb and react freely. Through programs offered at no cost to participants, students from underserved New York City public schools in all five boroughs are exposed to the creative processes of innovative artists from many disciplines; they explore epic works with the Armory’s experienced corps of multi-disciplinary Teaching Artists and staff; and they express their own interpretations.
643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
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Photo: Da Ping Luo
ARTS EDUCATION BY THE NUMBERS
Photo: Da Ping Luo
SINCE 2010, THE ARMORY’S ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAM HAS HAD:
Above: Performance artist Laurie Anderson discusses her work HABEUS CORPUS with high school students. At left: Student matinee audience members respond to FLEXN Evolution.
2,153 WORKSHOPS
195 MAJOR ARTISTS
created to serve
36,510 STUDENTS & FAMILIES
directly interact with students
231 YOUTH CORPS
1,100,000 STUDENTS
participants work 76,708 hours as part of their paid internships
reached through Armory-produced education resources at 1,861 NYC public schools
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Photo: Da Ping Luo
“I felt such a sense of wonder, surprise, and amazement. Art speaks way louder than words, and now I see why.”—Student participant
Photo: Stephanie Berger
PRODUCTION-BASED PROGRAMMING
Above: Following the student matinee of Macbeth, students applaud the cast including Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston. At left: Middle school students create their own visual art scores in response to OKTOPHONIE.
Production-based programming utilizes the Armory’s immersive artwork and unique setting to encourage students to think critically and trust their own creative judgment. Every artistic offering in both the Wade Thompson Drill Hall and the historic period rooms hosts exclusive student-only experiences. Interactive pre-visit workshops in schools introduce students to the artists and artistic program, and in post-visits students reflect on and respond to their artistic experiences, often in a different art form. This higher order of thinking requires a complex understanding of the work, and an ability to navigate multiple interpretations when the answers are not clear. At Student Summits and Teen Nights, young people have additional
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opportunities to explore the issues of our time through a variety of student-designed workshops, discussions, and collaborative art projects. “My students felt like they were part of a very real conversation... The Armory treats our students with respect, challenges them, and always leaves them enriched by the experiences they have. There are no words to express my gratitude,” said a teacher involved in the program. Arts education at the Armory also commissions new, unconventional works for New York City public school students and their families. These commissions are often inspired by the Armory’s building and advance the Armory’s role as an incubator of new works and a leader in arts education.
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Photo: Stephanie Berger
“Since the art works and exhibits change, I can only wonder what they’re going to have next and how would it ever beat the one we just saw.” —Partner school student
Photo: Da Ping Luo
PARTNER SCHOOLS
Above: Partner school student interacts with a residency project inspired by Nick Cave’s The Let Go at the Partner School Evening of the Arts. At left: Partner school students participate in a post-show workshop after attending a student matinee of Blank Out.
Building on the experience of production-based workshops, the Armory works closely with the teachers and administrations at each partner school to design a range of experiences that support and address each school’s specific curricular and community goals, connecting the artistic resources of the Armory to the needs of each individual school. Partner school students delve into the creative process through in-depth classroom residencies that utilize a variety of art forms, ongoing exposure to unconventional art, and exploration of the Armory’s historic interiors through interactive iBook workshops. These students are empowered as thoughtful creators and consumers of art, strengthening their innovation, critical thinking, adaptability, and problem solving through hands-on projects and exchanges with artists. Students have unique access to Armory artists during all stages of the creative process, from artists-in-residence who are in the early stages of new work, to
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seeing an idea fully realized in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall or period rooms. Through conversations and workshops with artists, students experience real-world examples of art being created through a cycle of inspiration, research, critique, trial and error, and persistence. A principal from Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design proclaimed, “the Armory provides my students exposure to an arts culture that is sorely missing from modern public education.” The wider partner school communities are also welcomed to the Armory through intergenerational Family Day workshops, and the annual Evening of the Arts, which showcases student exhibitions and performances as well as the opportunity to preview an upcoming Armory production.
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Photo: Da Ping Luo
“The list of amazing Youth Corps experiences is endless. I would not have had the exposure to incredible art, inspiring artists, abstract concepts and unique collaborations if it were not for Park Avenue Armory.”—Youth Corps intern
Photo: Da Ping Luo
YOUTH CORPS
Above: Youth Corps interns perform a movement piece as part of their Capstone Project. At left: Youth Corps interns meet with actor Bobby Cannavale to discuss The Hairy Ape and his path to becoming an actor.
The Armory Youth Corps are a group of New York City public high school students and graduates who immerse themselves in the art of Armory artists, encouraging exploration of the wonder of creative thinking. Through paid, project-oriented internships, the Youth Corps are fully integrated into the Armory’s operation, gaining important personal and professional skills while becoming leaders within the Armory and beyond.
Youth Corps have continued to return to the Armory after high school, leading to the launch of the newest phase of the program, which extends the principles of creative learning and mentorship into the critical post-high school years. Post-High School Youth Corps have already demonstrated the incredible potential of this new phase, through: a Student Advisory Board responsible for creating experiential convenings, including at least one annual Student Summit on the arts and social justice; training to become teaching assistants through the Armory’s Teaching Apprentice Program, a rigorous seven-week apprenticeship; taking advanced roles throughout the organization (as House Managers, Box Office Staff, and Production Assistants); and participation in a college persistence program called “Cohort” that continues to connect students with the peer and mentorship network developed during their high school years.
During high school, Youth Corps interns exercise their own creative skills and learn discipline, process, conceptual rigor, and presentation skills through a term project inspired by Armory productions; work with the Teaching Artists to develop workshops and educational experiences, providing valuable feedback and insight; support all departments at the Armory through artistic production and administrative projects; act as ambassadors for the Armory, working as greeters and ushers for all productions; and create and perform experiential site-specific artworks, examining the nature of unconventional work as artists themselves.
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Photo: Paula Lobo
“The Youth Corps at the Armory is a group of young people who are invited to engage and respond to the arts in a way that is profound and transformational…This program beautifully demonstrates that the arts are critical and one of the best tools we have for equipping the next generation to take on the challenges ahead.”— Peter Sellars
Photo: Da Ping Luo
ARTISTS AND THE YOUTH CORPS
Above: Youth Corps interns meet with performance artist Marina Abramović and pianist Igor Levit to discuss the creative process behind their collaboration on Goldberg. At left: Youth Corps interns create a new work with visual artist Martin Creed for his installation The Back Door.
Youth Corps members have unprecedented opportunities to work directly with world-class artists, experiencing firsthand the skill, innovation, imagination, dedication, and discipline required to complete projects in all art forms, often becoming an integral part of the artistic team, and fueling their own artistic explorations.
Ann Hamilton (visual art), Jason Moran (musician), and Taylor Mac (performance artist); actor Bobby Cannavale; visual artists Douglas Gordon and Martin Creed; artist and performer Laurie Anderson; the Royal Shakespeare Company; vocalists and composers Imani Uzuri, Helga Davis, and Justin Hicks; performer and choreographer Ralph Lemon; Obie Award-winning theater company 600 Highwaymen; the xx; dancer/choreographer Reggie (Regg Roc) Gray; and world-renowned visual artist and activist Ai Weiwei.
Students have engaged directly with celebrated artists as wide ranging as performance artist Marina Abramović; Tony Award-winning designers Christopher Oram and Christine Jones; MacArthur “Geniuses” Peter Sellars (director),
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“I really like this place. It brings out the true me.” —Student audience member
JOIN THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE Education Committee members support arts education programs at the Armory with annual donations and are invited to special events, meetings and workshops that allow them to witness the students’ progress and contribute to the growth of the program.
Photo: Da Ping Luo
Membership begins at $5,000. For more information, contact the Membership Department at 212-616-3958 or members@armoryonpark.org
Above: Artists Studio curator Jason Moran meets with Youth Corps interns to discuss his vision for the series in the space. At left: Student matinee audience members fill the Armory after attending a performance.
Park Avenue Armory’s arts education programs are supported by generous grants from the Leonard and Judy Lauder Fund, The Thompson Family Foundation, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the Zelnick/Belzberg Charitable Trust, the Hearst Foundations, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, Janet Halvorson, Lester and Enid Morse, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Con Edison, the WME Foundation, the Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation, the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and the Michael Tuch Foundation. Additional support has been provided by members of the Armory’s Education Committee. The Armory’s arts education programs are also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and are supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the city council.
PROGRAM SPONSORS
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory
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643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
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armoryonpark.org
Photo: Da Ping Luo
Student audience members cheer at the Up Right student matinee performance as part of Nick Cave’s The Let Go.