If you've been reading Artswire this year, then you've heard us report on the collaborative project that placed Gateway's artists in mini-residencies at 16 of the Family Support Centers of Allegheny County, as well as on the series of professional development workshops for early childhood educators offered through our partner, the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC). Both of these projects culminated on May 14-15 at Creativity: Where the Future Begins, the 44th PAEYC conference in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the the Allegheny County Family Support Policy Board.
Gateway is excited to have been part of the conference. Not only did seven of our teaching artists present workshops on early arts integration, Gateway staffer Carol Wolfe, premiered this video which recapped the project at the Family Support Centers for 200 conference-goers, including staff and families from the centers, at the Family Support luncheon on Friday.
On Saturday afternoon, approximately 50 parents and children from the FSCs joined the already present crowd of 1400 to talk with artists, explore art activities and to learn what services are available to them.
New relationships were forged between the teaching artists, FSC staff and families resulting in an exciting synergy that will surely lead to future collaborations. Gateway is grateful for this opportunity to extend its reach into the community and would like to thank the Allegheny County Family Support Policy Board, PAEYC, and the Heinz Endowments for helping this project succeed. Extra special thanks are extended to Curtis Reaves, our tireless and talented filmmaker who documented this project.