Urban Arts is an arts education nonprofit serving underrepresented students for over 30 years.
We teach low-income high school students the art and technology of digital game development through computer science, coding, music, storytelling. We provide private-school level college-access services and ensure our students earn the maximum in scholarships. We connect our alumni to mentorships and internships at leading companies, generating a diverse talent pipeline and real economic mobility.
We offer students from low-income communities a multi-year STEAM education. We teach video game design—that’s the hook. Students learn high-end coding skills, digital arts, narrative, and creative confidence. Our Advanced students have a 100% matriculation rate and have earned $16 Million scholarships since 2017. We place students in mentorships and internships, ensuring our students will define their own futures.
In his book The Vanishing Middle Class, M.I.T. economist Peter Temin writes that escaping poverty requires almost 20 years of effort with nearly nothing going wrong. Not surprisingly, the first and most important driver of economic mobility is having access to a quality education. To create transformational change in a young person’s life, this education must then be sustained over a number of years. Of course, college is part of that equation. But even more than attending college, we know that graduating with minimum debt—or none at all—is the game changer for our community. Now imagine if a graduate also has the opportunity to build a network with top employers, giving them pathways to a well-paid career. Wouldn’t that be something?
Yes, it would. And that’s why after thirty years of listening and learning, we’ve honed our approach to focus on three main pillars to set up our students for success.
First, we teach underrepresented students in Title 1 schools the art and technology of digital game development through computer science, coding, animation, music, and storytelling.
Second, we provide our students with private-school-level college-access services to ensure they earn the maximum in scholarships and reduce their debt burden.
And third, we connect our growing network of alumni to mentorship and internship opportunities at leading media and technology companies, generating a new and diverse talent pipeline for New York City and beyond.
Since we launched our college access program in 2017, 100% of our Advanced students have matriculated, earning more than $16M in scholarships. Each year our alumni cohort swells. With that, we gain new corporate partners who provide valuable entry and exposure, developing the next generation of talented hires. Further, we’re excited our new Gaming Pathways initiative, in partnership with City College of New York, aligns with Mayor Adams’ economic development plan to drive inclusive growth while renewing NYC.
We have the opportunity to inspire and affect real and lasting change. Because a quality education shouldn’t depend on a child’s zip code.
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