ARTS HORIZONS RECEIVES NEW JERSEY STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS GRANT TO BRING LIFE-TO-LITERATURE PROGRAM TO COLIN POWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN UNION CITY

Arts Horizons (AH) is pleased to announce our award with the Arts Education Special Initiative (AESI) from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA).  AESI is a two-year grant program that provides support for innovative arts education projects that make substantial contributions to arts education in NJ schools and youth agencies.

Arts Horizons will deliver our Life-to-Literature Program in collaboration with Colin Powell Elementary School in Union City, NJ. Our programs were drastically abbreviated due to the pandemic. We are thrilled for this opportunity to provide year-long programming to meet our goal to provide quality arts opportunities for schools and communities through onsite and virtual programs following COVID safety protocols. Our Life-to-Literature program will serve two cohorts of bilingual students who will participate in Improvisational Theater, Music and Spoken Word programs. The program will be designed and taught by Teaching Artists Michele Baldwin and Jahlil Shabazz. AH is proud to continue our nearly 15-year partnership with the Union City School district and we will collaborate with Ms. Edernis Bermudez-Garcia, District Supervisor of BL/ESL Education and World Language, as well as At-Risk Leader Eileen Turner to tailor the Social and Emotional learning component to the specific needs of the students. Ms. Stephanie E. Bostic, Arts Horizons Manager of NJ Programs will manage all aspects of the project.

About the Artists:

Ms.  Baldwin is a life-learner, innovative visionary, and multi-hyphen creative, who works in Film, TV, Theater, and the internet. She is also a seasoned actor, producer, writer, and director.  As an Artist, Storyteller, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, Ms. Baldwin strives to inspire others to achieve excellence by being a beacon of light and positivity.  She trained at the Einhorn School of Performing Arts and has served as a teaching artist of art, theater, writing, and film with Arts Horizon for over 6 years.

Mr. Shabazz is a multi-disciplinary performing artist, educator, and entrepreneur. Jahlil received his two Bachelors’ degrees from Temple University in the fields of African American/Black Studies and Spanish.  He currently uses his talents to focus on youth empowerment through the organization Akoben Enterprise, facilitating programs including Improvisation and Creativity, Performing Poetry and Spoken Word, Rites of Passage, and African Drumming,

About NJSCA:

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov

For more information, please contact Stephanie Bostic, Manager of NJ Programs:

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Stephanie E. Bostic
Program Manager of NJ Programs
stephanie@artshorizons.org
201-567-1766 ext. 114