Formally established in 1997, the Community Partnerships in the Arts (CPA) program is dedicated to enriching children's lives and learning through arts education experiences in local schools and community settings. The arts provide a fertile environment for learning because they promote inquiry, experimentation, and application — the basic building blocks of education — and provide an active and positive means for children to process and re-express, in their own terms, their experiences of the world around them.
The Community Partnerships in the Arts program carries on Fleisher Art Memorial's commitment to reaching families who lack access to high quality arts education programs. Over 100 years ago, Fleisher began as an arts program within a South Philadelphia settlement house. Today we collaborate with local human services agencies (some of which evolved from local settlement houses), local public schools, community organizations, and professional artists in collaborations that draw on the unparalleled capacity of the arts to engage the hearts and minds of South Philadelphia's children and youth, while integrating their academic learning and social development.
CPA's arts education programs are concentrated in three main areas:- Public School Residencies
- Community Residencies
- Traditional Arts Program
Innovative, arts integrated, theme-based projects designed primarily for students K-8.
Long-term residencies by teaching artists who work with neighborhood-based organizations to meet out-of-school developmental needs of children and youth.
Programs that sustain important traditions and ancient art forms by making them available to new generations of young people.
Community Partnerships in the Arts works with many organizations throughout the city committed to expanding arts opportunities for young people. Among our many partners are:
- The School District of Philadelphia, South Region
- Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative, including:
- Caring People Alliance, Fels Family Center
- United Communities of Southeast Philadelphia
- Asian Americans United
- Zhang Sah Martial Arts Studio
- Beacon Sunrise at Bok High School
- United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania's Center for Youth Development
- The Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership
- The Fabric Workshop and Museum
- The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Support for Community Partnerships in the Arts comes from the Lindback Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, the Philadelphia Foundation, the Samuel S. Fels Fund, Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the School District of Philadelphia, and the Wachovia, Lincoln Financial, Barra, Fleet Bank and PNC Foundations.
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National Endowment for the Arts is the sponsor of Fleisher’s ARTspiration! Community Arts Festival, June 2007.