Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity
2023 NACo Achievement Award Winner
Miami-Dade County, Fla., FL
About the Program
Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation
Year: 2023
“Art at the Library: Synergy and Opportunity” is an art education initiative of the Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) that brings free art classes to young patrons enrolled in the library’s Homework Help & Tutoring Program, to inform and inspire them to create and understand visual art using a variety of mediums.
Our desire is to expose young people who visit the library for tutoring, to hands-on art workshops facilitated by local professional artists. This synergy allows both Homework Help & Tutoring and Art at the Library a unique opportunity and creative outlet, giving our young patrons an academic advantage with tutoring and the arts. With the pilot program, we were able to serve 400 students, with an average of 25 students across 16 art classes. We are projected to serve 800 students during the course of our new schedule of 32 art classes. These free art classes, in a way, alleviate the gap that exists in the public school system, where art classes have been reduced from the school’s curriculum.