Arts for All: Join Our Creative Community
The Arts for All Program at Follow Your Art Community Studios is committed to building an inclusive, creative community which provides art experiences to all. We actively work to reduce barriers and increase access to our programs so that individuals who identify as members of traditionally marginalized populations feel as though they belong.
Arts for All promotes equity and inclusion by providing tuition assistance, adaptive services, outreach programs to underserved communities, and free community arts opportunities for all.
Adaptive Assistance
Arts for All makes every effort within its resources to offer adaptive assistance for individuals with disabilities (learning, cognitive, and/or physical), persons with mental health needs, and/or persons who require interpretive services.
We welcome students (youth and adults) with various capabilities and we can make reasonable accommodates as we are able. This can look like making curricular and/or space accommodations or modifications, or hiring an assistant to provide individualized aid, to name a few.
To best support our students in our programs, clear communication about the level of support required is essential for a successful experience.
Tuition Assistance
Offering creative programs that are accessible to families from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds ensures our commitment to be a creative community open to all.
In order to ensure that finances are not a barrier to accessing our programs, Arts for All offers tuition reductions for classes, workshops, vacation programs, and summer programs as well as payment plans.
Tuition assistance is extended to families and individuals who demonstrate a wide range of financial need.
In addition to having EBT and WIC cardholders automatically quality for 50% or more in assistance through FYACS’s affiliation with the Massachusetts Card to Culture Program, we also consider other factors such as cost of living, number of family members registering, and extenuating circumstances in determining assistance. Assistance will vary based on need and available funds.
Arts in Community
FYACS offers select free to participate community art opportunities at the big yellow house. Learn more here.
FYACS also aims to develop partnerships with organizations and community groups working within underserved communities to bring arts experiences to their spaces and constituents.
Arts for All provides partial funding for the creation and implementation of free and open to all art projects built in partnership with FYACS.
Email: Artsforall@fyamelrose.org for more information or to ask about community collaborations.
Building an equitable and equal arts community is a process:
we will amend as we learn and grow.
We know there are challenges accessing our program for some. We will do the research, have difficult conversations, and reach out to those who can help us when we don’t know. We are actively working to identify and remove those barriers as best we can.
Our Current Goals:
To continue to work towards building a more accessible space and program.
To include outreach programs to those from traditionally underrepresented populations, including people of color and those who identify as LGBTQIA+
To develop partnerships with organizations working within underserved communities in order to collaborate on the creation and implementation of community creative opportunities that are free and open to everyone.
Our ultimate goal is
to help all people feel like they belong.
Arts for All is funded by individual donations from our community, and generous grants. Grants have been provided by:
