SPAWN, SPRINT AND EDUCATE
New York, NY—Urban Arts, a STEAM nonprofit serving underrepresented students nationally, is expanding into middle schools with Creative Coders, a rigorous curriculum in partnership with Minecraft Education. Supported by a highly competitive $4M Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Urban Arts will partner with 70+ schools and 3,450 students […]
That Time We Won a Really Fantastic Award
Thank you to the NEA Foundation for honoring Urban Arts with the 2023 FNBO Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education. This places Urban Arts in the prestigious company of past winners the NAACP, the American Indian College Fund, Title IX advocate Billie Jean King and Sesame Street Workshop. Urban Arts CEO Philip Courtney spoke at the annual Salute to […]
Third Time’s a ($12M) Charm
Urban Arts has earned its third highly competitive $4M Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. New York, NY—Urban Arts, an arts and technology nonprofit serving underrepresented students nationally, has earned its third highly competitive $4M Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This third […]
Expanding with a Pickaxe
By Philip Courtney, CEO of Urban Arts With our third USDOE EIR grant win, we’re amplifying what we do best with middle schoolers nationally. At Urban Arts, we’re really good at teaching computer science through game development to high school students from low-income communities. We get them into college with well-crafted digital portfolios and we […]
Teachers Gotta Game: #CSEdWeek Console Commitment
By Amy Patterson, Chief Program Officer, Urban Arts Teachers, here’s a new call to action. Your quest. Your mission. Your… permission? You should play more video games. We know the video game stereotypes: glazed eyes and sullen kids, the steady drumbeat of gunfire and blast of siren behind drawn curtains. But here’s the reality: video […]
URBAN ARTS 👾 YEAR 📅 IN REVIEW ⚡️ 2023 🤩
At the beginning of FY23, we were working in two states—New York and North Carolina. By the end of the year, we had built partnerships with schools in seven new states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Texas, and Washington State. URBAN ARTS IS IN NINE STATES! How did this happen? Read our Review 📘 to […]
The Pixel: Urban Arts Newsletter – March
On March 8th, Urban Arts and sponsor partner Microsoft threw the illest party in Manhattan—the Urban Arts Color Ball. We raised $650,000 to support our programming and level the digital playing field. Enjoy our “Best Of” Image Gallery and a play-by-play of the evening! For more photos, click the button below. Urban Arts and Microsoft […]
The Pixel: Urban Arts Newsletter – February
The Color Ball is unlike any gala you’ve attended. Dynamic, powerful, high-energy, colorful and stacked with powerbrokers from tech, finance, art, and media. Dress code? Color is a must! A bright green ball gown, a Zelda costume, or your favorite Hawaiian shirt—they’ve all graced the red carpet in years past. Celebrated illustrator Timothy Goodman will […]
The Pixel: Urban Arts Newsletter – December
I remember being 18 and starting college with the far-off knowledge that I’d one day have to pay off debt. I remember not worrying about it. I was told I’d graduate in time, get a good job, have lots of support from my parents and their peers and use my many (very expensive) hobbies to […]