"Bus Grant" Allows 147 Michigan Schools to Take Arts & Cultural Field Trips

Michigan Youth Arts and MCACA to Provide $55,000 in Transportation Funding to Classrooms in Need

FERNDALE, MI - The Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs (MCACA), on behalf of the Michigan Youth Arts Association, provided a total of $55,000 in grants for the 2014 cycle of its Arts & Culture Trek "Bus Grant" program. All 147 Michigan K-12 schools that received the grant were awarded up to $500 to cover the transportation costs associated with an arts or culture-related field trip that is scheduled to take place between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2014.

"Michigan Youth Arts is honored to work with MCACA to provide transportation grants through the Arts & Culture Trek program," said Marianne Dorais, Executive Director of Michigan Youth Arts. "These grants subsidize field trips across the state and expose thousands of students to arts, science and humanities experiences that enrich classroom learning. Many of these trips would not have been possible in a year where most schools are continuing to cope with significant budget cuts."

Since 2012, the Arts & Culture Trek grants have allowed approximately 46,200 students to travel to more than 200 pre-approved arts and cultural institutions across the state. Each institution must offer educational programming, exhibits, or performances that enhance the arts and humanities curriculum outside the classroom. Popular field trip destinations include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Flint Institute of Music, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Henry Ford, and the Frederick Meijer Gardens.

"Observing art in person is so crucial; when students study it in real life, they get a better sense of the scale and true beauty behind the techniques used in creating that work. These life-changing moments are what inspires our students!" said Sandra Miller, Buchanan High School art teacher and first-time recipient of the grant. "We thank Michigan Youth Arts for providing us the opportunity to help students gain these valuable learning moments. Without grants like these, field trips in schools like ours are almost non-existent."

A 2012 survey released by Michigan Youth Arts, entitled Arts Education in Michigan, revealed that 108,000 students go to school each day without some sort of exposure to music, visual art, theatre, dance, or creative writing, and that 45 percent of schools cited transportation costs as a significant barrier to arts-related field trips.

"It has been abundantly clear, through the arts education survey, that there are so many kids, who without the support of this program, would never have the opportunity to experience the incredible arts and cultural activities our Michigan organizations can provide," said John Bracey, Executive Director of MCACA. "For some of these kids, these trips may well represent a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to not only discover the arts, but also uncover the artist within."

For a complete list of the 147 grant recipients, sorted by county, city, and school, please visit http://www.michiganyoutharts.org/pdf/2014grants.pdf


Arts & Culture Trek Grant Program Statistics:
2012 Spring: $33,812 in grants, serving 7,584 students. Funding supported by MCACA.
2012 Fall/Winter: $20,000 in grants, serving 5,878 students. Funding supported by Ovation and Comcast.

2013 Spring: $70,000 in grants, serving 19,551 students. Funding supported by MCACA and the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation.

2014 Winter: $55,000 in grants, serving 14,222 students. Funding supported by MCACA.

About Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA)
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, serves to encourage, initiate and facilitate an enriched artistic, cultural and creative environment in Michigan. For more on its initiatives and programs, visit www.michiganadvantage.org/arts.

About Michigan Youth Arts
Michigan Youth Arts is an alliance of 16 statewide education associations that work together collaboratively to develop high quality arts education programming, recognize the contributions of valuable teachers, and provide advocacy resources for parents, educators and policymakers. Learn more at www.michiganyoutharts.org.