• Arts
  • Arts Education

Downtown Richmond’s East Bay Center for the Performing Arts serves as an example of how cultural centers can benefit youth in distressed neighborhoods. The Center reaches 430 students, ages 3 to 18, with free or low-cost instruction in an array of dance, music, and theater disciplines, plus staff members teach an additional 3,000 students at a dozen local public schools. The Fund’s grant helps the Center to respond to increased demand for its rigorous Diploma Program, which is designed to make meaningful change in the lives of low-income youth through immersing them in the performing arts and developing their leadership skills. Program participants study at the Center several times a week during the academic year and daily during the summer. Each student masters two art forms from two different cultures.