Urban Arts Partnership (UAP), New York City’s biggest and fastest-growing arts education organization, will presents its annual Urban Arts Festival on Wednesday, May 13. Celebrating the creativity of students, teachers, and parents who have helped make UAP’s in-school and after-school programs a success, the festival aims to #PackThePalace—the 3,400 seats of the historic United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights.
“The outpouring of support for this event over the last few months demonstrates the willingness and desire for community members to be more involved in our public schools,” said UAP’s CEO Philip Courtney in a statement. “Arts education has the power to transform communities by engaging students in their own education and getting parents and leaders excited about what’s going on in NYC classrooms.”
The event, featuring art, workshops, and live performances, will be hosted by Selenis Leyva, who plays inmate Gloria on the Emmy-winning Netflix show “Orange Is the New Black” (which drops its third season June 12). Borough president Gale Brewer will be among the presenters recognizing middle- and high school-aged students who have excelled in UAP’s programming in the last year. The Urban Arts Festival is also hosted in conjunction with the NYC Department of Education District 6 leaders, the United Palace of Cultural Arts, and representatives from New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez’s office.
The event is free and open to the public; click here to reserve a seat. For more information on how UAP serves 15,000 students in over 100 schools, visit urbanarts.org.