International Family Magazine

Mallory King - Director of Arts to Grow

Tell me a little about your background, your artistic family. What type of art was close to your heart as a child?
From an early age, I have been close to the process of an artist, having myself grown up in a family of artists. I myself studied classical guitar, my father is a visual artist, my mother a poet, and my sister danced professionally for twenty years. I’m a native New Yorker and attended the High School of Performing Arts (now La Guardia High School for the Arts), right here in New York City.
In your own words, what is the magic effect of the Arts on children?
Children in school are most often instructed to solve problems given a set of instructions to arrive at the solution. The Arts provide a special place for kids to create something that is uniquely theirs, a vehicle in which they can develop individual expressive skills giving the possibility for children with differing learning styles and abilities to find something of their own and experience success.
Historically, when did educators begin to recognize the importance of the Arts in the public school curriculum?
Without going into specific historical influences, I can say that the Arts has always been a part of the teaching models that were conceived in America’s earliest schools. The Arts in its distinct disciplines have always been found in the activities such as in drawing class, choir, school plays and the ubiquitous school band. The arts are basic to a learning foundation, since the Arts are found in all social contexts and serve as an important means of communication.
What makes your organization stand out as a choice for after school art program and what has made it a successful model over others?
Arts to Grow places an emphasis on collaboration-- with partnership schools, the students and the community all working together to reach our goals. We are in constant communication with our partners in a process of discussion and evaluation to create individualized programs that are tailored exactly to what each group of children needs.
In the five years of your leadership as the director of Arts to Grow what were the biggest challenges in bringing your organization forward?
The most challenging barrier was figuring out how to move forward with very little financial resources. The use of volunteers gave us a viable solution to create a functioning de facto staff, but subsequently, created other challenges related to managing a committed but dissolvable group of people and leveraging their skills effectively to meet the needs of our organization.
Tell me about the concept of skilled base volunteers, how did this idea come about and how has that facilitated the implementation of your organization’s goals?
The idea came from sheer necessity rather than following anyone’s organization model. In the first couple of months of our launch, we were faced with the problem of creating visibility for Arts to Grow. Without a website as a tool for a wide communication outreach, we could not achieve our stated mission. Through luck and determination, we were able to engage Design Lounge on a pro bono basis to create a professional website for Arts to Grow. Having accomplished this task successfully through this means created a precedence for the use of skilled based volunteers.
During his administration, President Bush established the campaign of no child left behind, reinforcing basic learning skills for children in American public schools. What is the current position of the new government on funding arts programs, when so many of the ‘extras’ are facing cutback?
Simply put, President Obama’s current administration recognizes the importance of the Arts in public education and has gone so far as to discuss the possibility of appointing a Cabinet level, Secretary of Culture. However, as a result of the states being themselves bankrupt, there are inevitable cuts for all after school and enrichment programs, propelling the need to mobilize funding through our supporters to keep Arts learning opportunities available for all kids in both school based and after school programs.
Where did the idea of teaching artists come from? What type of qualities are you looking for in a teaching artist?
The idea can be credited to Eric Booth, Juilliard School faculty member, actor and nationally recognized consultant for the arts. He developed the definition of the teaching artist: “A teaching artist (artist –educator) is a practicing professional artist with the complementary skills and sensibilities of an educator, who engages people in learning experiences in, through, and about the arts.” Again an idea which stemmed from necessity: as specialist art teachers were cut from public schools budgets, administrators were searching for alternative ways to maintain quality art programs. Introducing teaching artists as independent contractors created this possibility and a successful model of collaboration emerged. Arts to Grow standard criteria for our teaching artist is that he or she must have at least one year teaching art form to same age group. Our teaching artists are chosen for their extraordinary ability to connect with kids, for their genuine love to work with them, creating a symbiotic exchange of learning from each other.
In 2007, Arts to Grow participated in a Strategic Workshop outlining the organization’s goals for 2008-2012, much like a business model start-up. Tell me about this process and the importance of a strategic plan in guiding a small non-profit through its growth and development.
Through my own networking channels, we found Sophie Lechner our current Board Member, through the Columbia Business School Alumni group who helped us through this very important process. Every new business, including a non-profit, requires such road map or a strategic plan to establish the definition of the organization, its strengths and weaknesses, and to identify its constituents. Having this seminal plan, allowed us to bring new people in collaboration, to communicate more clearly to better define our goals and vision.
Make your appeal! Why should people give to your organization?
Arts to Grow provides the highest educational return on the investment dollar. With 99% of contributions going directly to programs, we highly leverage skilled professionals with well over a 500:1 volunteer to staff ratio. This is the moment you can become a part of it. Join us and help all our children find their distinctive voice and become engaged in learning one student at a time. That is the mission of Arts to Grow.

5 Years and Blooming!

In 2005, Arts to Grow launched its first 3 programs, today it has increased its partnership to 14 schools serving 300 children of all abilities to gain a life-long love of learning

Arts to Grow Goal in 2010: to Raise $50,000 to serve 500 Kids in 2010!

If you believe in helping a disadvantaged child gain access to Arts Education, help support Arts to Grow:

Attend the Gala
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Facebook - www.facebook.com/pages/Arts-to-Grow/87904211259
Linked In - www.linkedin.com/pub/mallory-king/2/970/909
Twitter - twitter.com/Arts2Grow