Head Start: Port Chester

The Rye Arts Center offers 26 weeks of art and music instruction each year to hundreds of Port Chester preschool children in need. Established in 1981, this program helps develop school readiness skills, aiding young participants in their transition to public school. Through arts activities, children enhance their cognitive and language development, express themselves creatively, and build confidence. From October to May, children aged 3-5 participate in weekly classes covering painting, ceramics, mixed media, dance, music, singing, and storytelling. Many children are early English learners, and the program helps them learn English through song lyrics and instruction. Scholarships are also provided for select Head Start students to attend the summer Creative Arts Program, enriching their arts education further.

LOOK!

Offered to area elementary schools, including five in Port Chester, LOOK! is designed to provide visual and creative literacy arts education to young children through learning about famous artists and their works. Since 1986 The Rye Arts Center has offered this program, organizing and training a network of parent volunteers to instruct thousands of children to understand the creative process of artists ranging from 15th-century artist Arcimboldo to 20th-century sculptor Alexander Calder. Through lectures and hands-on projects undertaken in the classroom, LOOK! exposes young minds to the history of art while helping them create art using the same concepts and techniques as the masters. Offering this arts education experience through parent docents creates a bond between the adults and children as they experience the arts and creative process together. For more information click the link in the title above.

Community Resource Center: Mamaroneck

Providing arts education to the undeserved in our neighboring communities continues to be a major focus of our outreach programs. At the Hispanic Resource Center in Mamaroneck, The Rye Arts Center works to foster connections and participation among immigrant families through participation in the arts. We provide instruction in digital photography to teens and scholarships for Hispanic Resource Center children to attend our summer creative arts program each year.

The Osborn Home - Swingin’ Singers

This program developed from interest among a group of independent residents wishing to form a singing group. The group is led and accompanied by a music teacher from The Rye Arts Center’s music program.  Swingin’ Singers gives performances to the residents during the year with song selections based around American standards.

Founder's Week Concert: Swingin' Singers commemorated the opening of The Osborn Home in 1908 by performing song selections from that era . The concert was led by a fellow member of the group and featured soloists throughout the performance. Musical accompaniment was provided by Teresa Hitchcock from The Rye Arts Center.

Dance For Parkinson’s Disease

Based on the internationally acclaimed and data-based Dance for PD program in Brooklyn, NY, these enriching classes are taught by dance professionals and offer people living with Parkinson's disease the opportunity to explore movement and music in an interactive, enjoyable, and safe environment. Mobility, balance, Spatial awareness, and overall well-being are enhanced through a mixture of modern, ballet, and social dance forms. This class is also a part of our outreach program.

Wednesday | 1:30 - 2:30pm (In-Person) Friday | 1:30 - 2:30pm (Virtual)

World Music

Introducing cultures around the world through interactive music and storytelling workshops is the focus of the annual World Music Program provided to kindergarteners in the Rye City School District by The Rye Arts Center.

This program, sponsored by The Women’s Club of Rye, Children’s Philanthropy, provides children with a multi-cultural experience using traditional instruments indigenous to various countries, as well as participating in musical traditions.

Senior Social Program: Drawing + Painting

Welcome Seniors to a free community-based drawing/painting class. This is a free donor funded class geared towards those over the age of 65. Teaching artist Ann Ladd will share her wealth of information on drawing and painting to create a fun, engaging class. All levels are welcome. Various techniques and mediums will be discussed. Get your creativity on in a social, fun setting with other seniors. See catalog for dates/times.

Music for Seniors: Music Outreach

Music Outreach Now was established for senior citizens at area nursing homes to enjoy live music and its therapeutic value. The musicians are Rye Arts Center students as well as those of area middle and high schools. This program fulfills many goals: self-esteem for the students performing, entertainment for the seniors, and interaction between students and seniors. This RAC program is organized through the RAC Music School Director and RAC students in conjunction with Rye High School student volunteers

Girls Who Code

The Rye Arts Center offers free weekly Girls Who Code classes to provide a supportive environment to help girls learn to see themselves as computer scientists. The Rye Arts Center has long been a local leader in STEAM education, we are proud to be a part of Girls Who Code’s national movement to close the gender gap in technology.
Club girls join a safe and supportive environment of peers & role models and learn to see themselves as computer scientists. Beyond the Club, girls can tap into an alumni network of tens of thousands of girls across the country who are using computer science to solve problems they care about. In this Club, girls learn the concepts of loops, variables, conditionals, and functions that form the basis for all programming languages — whether they want to build a website, an app, or a robot. Returning Clubs girls can deepen their programming knowledge through extended activity sets. Space is limited to 10 students, all supplies included.

STEM+Arts (STEAM) Program

Responding to a national conversation regarding the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, The Rye Arts Center has integrated the Arts into this curriculum discussion, recognizing the important role that the arts play in developing innovation and creativity, alongside the STEM based subjects. The Rye Arts Center is embarking on offering innovative programming to prepare students for the art and design world of the 21st century, integrating science, technology, and math and computer skills into many of our class offerings. Our newest arts education curriculum offerings include 3D printing and design, Lego Engineering, ‘Scratch’ and ‘Processing’ computer programming, 3D animation using ‘Blender’ and Minecraft animation and creative building with littleBits and Makey Makey technology. It is our intent to bring this innovative STEM+Arts based curriculum to all in our community.

Big Picture Foundation

“Empowering youth to use the arts for local, national, and global community-building initiatives.”

At the Big Picture Foundation, our mission is to empower children by providing them with the resources and opportunities to contribute to a global community through the arts. We strive to foster exploration of social, political, and environmental topics through artistic expression. This is achieved by facilitating online sharing of children's art projects, encouraging the use of art to strengthen communities locally and globally, and providing opportunities for children to learn about current events, geography, politics, and contemporary art through global collaborations. Together, we aim to cultivate socially conscious and globally aware individuals who use art as a catalyst for positive change. For more information and to see what we’re up to, click the title link above.