Representatives from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation will share sustainability and capacity building strategies with Creative Communities partners during the 2002 Creative Communities Summer Institute in New Orleans held June 27-30.


Creative Communities is an innovative arts education, youth development and community building strategy that partners community schools of the arts with public housing authorities to provide youth with empowering art-making experiences during non-school hours.

The National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, through a cooperative partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development, is responsible for the overall implementation of the three-year initiative, including training, technical assistance, capacity-building and sustainability strategies. Over 5,000 young people residing in public housing communities in 20 cities across the country are benefiting from Creative Communities partnerships, which represents a $4.65 million investment in and commitment to community arts education

"While we are just completing the first year of this innovative partnership, it is certainly not too early to start sowing seeds for sustainability," said Shawn Dove, the Creative Communities project director for the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. "The National Guild is committed to fulfilling the Creative Communities promise beyond the three-year start-up phase and partnering with the philanthropic community is crucial to our commitment."

Foundation representatives will offer strategies for the 20 partnership sites to build upon their three-year $135,000 start-up grants to launch Creative Communities strategies in their respective cities. Shalondra Henry, a program officer with the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and funder of the Creative Communities initiative said, "Creative Communities is one of the most exciting initiatives I've seen in quite some time. It has a national reach. It brings together communities that may otherwise never connect. Most critically, it teaches young people the beauty within themselves through art."

The Creative Communities Summer Training Institute will also offer hands-on training in the areas of Marketing and Advocacy, and will allow attendees to share best practices and lessons learned. Opening remarks will be made by George C. Miller, Jr., HUD Administrative Receiver, Housing Authority of New Orleans. Salahadeen Betts, will follow Miller. Betts, a young professional who grew up in a Harlem housing project and participated in an after-school arts program, went on to become a successful graphics designer and founder of Harlemite.com.

The New Orleans Ballet Association and the Center for the Urban Community at Tulane and Xavier Universities are the host organizations for the Training Institute. NOBA's executive director, Jenny Hamilton, said, "We are very excited to be hosting the Creative Communities family in New Orleans. This is an opportunity to explore the first-hand experiences of a diverse group of people from across the country whose focus is to improve the lives of youth and promote access to the arts."