Silvermine Arts Center In New Canaan Awarded $10,000 Grant

NEW CANAAN, CT — The Silvermine Arts Center has been awarded a $10,000 Challenge America grant to support its Art Partners After-School Art Club, which brings professional teaching artists and in-depth art education to students in elementary and middle schools in Norwalk, Stamford and Bridgeport.

According to a news release, the Challenge America grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) seek to extend the reach of the arts to underserved individuals and communities.

"The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from Silvermine that help support the community’s creative economy," NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers said in a news release. "Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan is among the organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts."

CEO Barbara Linarducci said the art center was grateful to NEA for this crucial funding for Art Partners, which marks its 30th year as Silvermine celebrates its centennial.

"The Art Partners program was founded to integrate art education with academic pursuits while fostering empathy and bringing competence and creative problem-solving skills to students in their formative years," Linarducci said in a news release.

Each Art Partners After-School Art Club project is tailored to a specific school and grade level and can be tied to a particular academic discipline such as science, geography, or literature. Students research their subjects and learn techniques for painting, sculpture, or printmaking, for example.

In addition, they learn to work as a team and practice critiquing and presenting their work—absorbing valuable communications skills and social intelligence that help set the baseline for their academic careers. The program is managed by Missy Savard, Silvermine’s Coordinator for Outreach Education.

Art Partners programs have often included a cultural exchange with students in other countries through a partnership with Creative Connections, the non-profit cultural education organization based in Norwalk. Art Partners programs help students feel connected, capable, and valued—and build social and emotional resources as well as academic accomplishment, according to the release.