Urban Arts Investigates AI and the Future of STEAM Education at Accelerator 2025
Redefining Learning in the Age of Automation NEW YORK, NY (October 2025) — While the headlines wonder if AI will replace skills like coding, Urban Arts knows what makes students irreplaceable: creativity and critical thinking. The national nonprofit—renowned for teaching video game design as a pathway to college and career—hosted their AI Accelerator from September […]
“The Vanishing Enigma” Honored in Congressional App Challenge
NEW YORK, NY (2025) — Urban Arts, a New York City-based nonprofit that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and wide-ranging careers, is proud to announce that The Vanishing Enigma created by Studio Capstone team “The AristoRats” has won the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for New York’s Eighth District, hosted by Representative […]
Urban Arts to Honor Josh Feldman with NBCUniversal at 2025 Color Ball
Dear Life of the Party,
At Urban Arts’ Color Ball on April 10th, five extraordinary young people took the stage—and owned it. Their powerful stories and remarkable achievements received a rousing response from a room filled with 400 guests. It was a night that celebrated not only their success, but the limitless potential of every Urban Arts student.
Because of you—our incredible supporters, champions, and dance-floor legends—Color Ball 2025 raised $800k in a single night! That’s right, you made it rain (philanthropically speaking), and our Urban Arts students are the real winners! Daniel Glenn-Schultz, our inspiring Nagler Scholar, deserves a standing ovation. His story reminds us why we do this work—because talent deserves opportunity, and every student deserves a chance to create their future.
“Imagine a little boy standing at Parkchester Subway station. I’m staring at a vast subway map. I’m following the multi-colored lines. As I stare at that map, I feel I can go anywhere! Urban Arts has changed my life. And now this scholarship will change my life yet again.”
—Daniel Glenn-Schultz, 2025 Nagler Scholar
A huge thank you to our honoree, NBCUniversal’s Josh Feldman, for his leadership and to NBCUniversal for your unwavering partnership. We couldn’t ask for better collaborators in this mission to fuel access and opportunity.
And let’s talk about Louis Cato and his band, who absolutely rocked the house (and may or may not have caused some sore feet this morning). Louis brought the perfect energy to cap off an unforgettable evening!To each and every one of you in the room and who raised your hand or bid wildly on auction items—THANK YOU! Your generosity ensures that Urban Arts students can dream big, create freely, and achieve their full potential.Missed the event but still want to make an impact? There’s still time to support our students and get involved! With deep gratitude, we’re heading into the future energized and inspired. Thank you for being part of this unforgettable night and the Urban Arts journey.
Highlights from the night:
• 100% college acceptance rate,
• $32M in college scholarships to date,
• $800K raised,
• 3 conga lines on the dance floor,
• a sea of sequins, blinding amounts of neon, plus stripes, florals, checks, comic-book print, marabou cuffs, animal prints, plaids, metallics, rhinestones, paisley—
• and one red cape!
There’s No Computer Science Without Creativity: Game Development as a Pathway to STEM Success
Dr. Amy Patterson of Urban Arts and Ellen Flaherty of Unity amplify the transformative impact of Computer Science (CS) through game development in a CSEdWeek OpEd (December 9-13, 2024). This piece spotlights how game design initiatives are changing the trajectory for K-12 students nationwide. Together, they showcase real student journeys—from high school to college to […]
(FREE) SUMMER CAMP ⛺️: Hot Games, Cool Kids
During the 6 weeks of our Summer Camp intensive, 100+ students learned coding, Unity engine, and other digital tools to write, make music and art, and create games. 10 Alumni Teaching Assistants worked with us this summer—folks who went through Urban Arts programming and who have been hired back to teach the next generation while […]
The Power of Play
“Play is a human need.” Click here to hear Cynthia Williams, President, #wizardsofthecoast & @Hasbro Gaming, and Philip Courtney, CEO, Urban Arts, discuss the #educational benefits of #play—in school, in college and in career. On the EdUp podcast www.edupexperience.com/PhilipAndCynthia Cynthia Williams is President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming. Cynthia leads strategy and […]
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 […]