Laguna Beach High School Programs Earn Festival of Arts Grants

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Four Laguna Beach High School teachers were awarded grants totaling $20,000 from the Festival of Arts (FOA) Foundation to enhance the fine arts department, specifically the school’s art, ceramics, dance, and theater programs. Each teacher received a $5,000 grant for their program.

The Laguna Beach FOA Foundation was incorporated in 1989 to preserve and promote the fine arts and all other artistic endeavors in and about Laguna Beach. The foundation operates independently from the Festival of Arts. To date, the Festival of Arts, along with the Foundation, has cumulatively awarded nearly $2.6 million in grants to the art community in Laguna Beach.

“Visual Arts students appreciate the continued support of the Festival of Arts Foundation that allows students to develop skills for creativity and innovation in post-secondary careers,” said Bridget Beaudry-Porter, a visual arts teacher at Laguna Beach High School. She continued, “With this grant, students can create artwork with canvases, paints, paper, and art supplies. As a teacher, I am very grateful for this historically artistic community which so strongly supports arts education.”

Teachers have used the grants to provide students with real-world experiences and opportunities, including after-school open level master classes for the dance program and exhibit opportunities for the arts and ceramics programs at local galleries.

“LBHS Drama is grateful for the support received from FOA, which helped elevate the production values related to our spring musical, providing our students with a professional-style experience and our audiences with a crowd-pleasing show,” said Laguna Beach High School and Thurston Middle School Drama Teacher and Director Alexis Karol. “Additional funding was utilized to bring in professional experts for master classes, enriching the student experience with unique opportunities for study and training," she concluded.

The FOA Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the visual and performing arts in the LBUSD and will be recognized at the school board meeting on Tuesday, June 26 at 6 p.m. For more information about the Festival of Arts Foundation, including its grants and scholarships, visit https://www.foapom.com/about/grants-scholarships/.

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