Portside’s Impact since 2008:
- Portside has welcomed over 10,000 families through its doors.
- Provided over 45 different types of visual art, music and theater classes.
- Held over 25 student art exhibitions, showing the work of over 2,500 community youth & adults.
- Organized 10 Community Arts festivals, collaborating with over 1,000 local artists & musicians.
- Hosted over 100 small free community art events.
- Helped over 50 youth artists develop their art portfolio and apply to Philadelphia’s arts high schools & colleges.
What your sponsorship would fund:
- Your donation would contribute towards operating expenses, teachers fees and art supplies.
- Your donation would help us impacts over 500 kids & teens next year.
- Your donation would helps us provide more income based tuition options for families in need.
- Your donation would help us provide arts education and a crucial safe haven for the youth living in the River Wards.
Why Sponsor Portside Arts Center?
Your generous donation will be put towards the program expenses of your choice. By helping us cover these crucial programming expenses you will help us continue providing subsidized tuition for families in need. Every month Portside provides 30 families with subsidized tuition in the amount $2,800 so they can attend our After School Art Program. During the summer months Portside's Summer Art Camp impacts over 100 kids every summer. This past summer Portside awarded $6,000 in scholarships and tuition subsidies to 20 families. Your generous contribution would help us impact more families who want to invest in high quality arts education and creative experiences for their children.
Many of the schools in Northeast Philadelphia lack arts education. A growing body of evidence suggests that at virtually every stage of life, the arts can foster openness to novelty, encourage connections to people, places, things, and concepts, and promote the ability to take multiple perspectives, among other positive outcomes (NEA, 2011).
Portside's programs provide a safe space for children to build friendships, express themselves, be creative, and learn about the world through art. Throughout our programs, children are introduced to the fundamentals of arts education through a hands-on visual arts curriculum. Portside’s teachers create projects that are focused on processed based learning and exploration, allowing students to build knowledge through investigation. Children are exposed to artists from all over the world and learn a wide range of art skills and techniques. Our teachers work hard to connect art with life by inserting “big ideas” into their lessons. This approach encourages students to be explorers and researchers, to develop their own ideas and opinions, and to understand the perspectives and opinions of others. We encourage our students to be globally minded citizens and fearless artists.
“As parents, we deeply appreciate the integral role Portside has played in the development of our daughter's identity as an artist, as well as a citizen.” - Portside Parents, Alyse & Paul Lichtenstein
"Portside has been my safe haven where I was able to blossom not only as an artist but in my academics as well. I was seven years old when I first walked through Portside’s doors. At the time, I had no idea that I would later consider the Portside to be my second home." - Devon Love, Portside Alumni Age 17
Many of the schools in Northeast Philadelphia lack arts education. A growing body of evidence suggests that at virtually every stage of life, the arts can foster openness to novelty, encourage connections to people, places, things, and concepts, and promote the ability to take multiple perspectives, among other positive outcomes (NEA, 2011).
Portside's programs provide a safe space for children to build friendships, express themselves, be creative, and learn about the world through art. Throughout our programs, children are introduced to the fundamentals of arts education through a hands-on visual arts curriculum. Portside’s teachers create projects that are focused on processed based learning and exploration, allowing students to build knowledge through investigation. Children are exposed to artists from all over the world and learn a wide range of art skills and techniques. Our teachers work hard to connect art with life by inserting “big ideas” into their lessons. This approach encourages students to be explorers and researchers, to develop their own ideas and opinions, and to understand the perspectives and opinions of others. We encourage our students to be globally minded citizens and fearless artists.
“As parents, we deeply appreciate the integral role Portside has played in the development of our daughter's identity as an artist, as well as a citizen.” - Portside Parents, Alyse & Paul Lichtenstein
"Portside has been my safe haven where I was able to blossom not only as an artist but in my academics as well. I was seven years old when I first walked through Portside’s doors. At the time, I had no idea that I would later consider the Portside to be my second home." - Devon Love, Portside Alumni Age 17