UTSA matches $500,000 gift from Kronkosky Charitable Foundation to commit $750,000 to Young Artist Programs

JULY 17, 2024 — UTSA has reached a milestone in matching funds from a $500,000 grant made by the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation to support and expand UTSA Arts’ Young Artist Programs. By adding matching gifts from other local and national foundations over the past year, the grant from the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation will yield a total gift commitment of $750,000.

UTSA Arts was established in 2022 to support community arts education, public-facing performances and exhibitions, and arts-based research and partnerships that enhance the accessibility of the arts for the general public. UTSA Arts’ Young Artist Programs provide high quality visual arts education services primarily to low-income children and teens in San Antonio.

In FY 2023, the Young Artist Programs served 2,500 K-12 students, and significant growth is expected in FY 2024. The funding will also enable UTSA to create thriving and vibrant new course offerings.

“This support from Kronkosky will help us to take the very talented high school and middle students in this program to the next level.”

Students in the Kids Initiating Design Solutions program visit Confluence Park and are given a tour by Frates Seeligson, San Antonio River Foundation executive director.

“The Young Artists Programs at the UTSA Southwest Campus have been developed over the course of five decades by the professional arts administrators at the former Southwest School of Art and have become one of the largest and most outstanding visual arts education programs established for low-income students in San Antonio,” said Heather Shipley, UTSA provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. “Arts programs have the potential to teach children and teens valuable skills for future success including critical thinking, creativity and emotional intelligence. We are grateful to the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation for providing the resources that UTSA needs to support thousands of youth artists within our community with this valuable instruction.”

The vision for the Young Artists Programs is to kindle, nurture and celebrate the creative ability of children in San Antonio by providing youth with high quality experiences in the visual arts. By fostering the creativity of the city’s young people, the Young Artist Programs empower children and youth to learn and grow creatively and to acquire skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Melissa Mahan, UTSA associate vice provost, is a visible leader and advocate for the arts. The Young Artist Programs are administered by the UTSA Department of Professional and Continuing Education.

“Prior to the pandemic, the programs drew 5,000 students. We expect the grant to provide the programs with the resources that are needed to continue to grow attendance to this pre-pandemic level,” Mahan said. “Over the past two years we have seen double-digit growth in our community programs. This tremendous growth was accelerated by the generous funding of the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation.”

Marie-Claire Valdez, the new director of the Young Artists Programs says, “This incredible support will enable us to benefit students by providing more access to arts instructors, new high-quality programming and to create new community partnerships.”

In 1968, the Young Artists Programs began with a group of elementary school teachers in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) and with professors from Trinity University who believed passionately in the power of art education to inspire children to become self-directed, lifelong learners. At their own initiative and expense, the founders of the Young Artists Programs transported elementary school-aged students to free Saturday morning classes at La Villita.

As the program developed, the founders encouraged parents and other adults to accompany and learn alongside their children. This free program came to be known as Saturday Morning Discovery and continues its legacy today.

Over the past five decades, the Young Artists Programs have evolved. The programs currently feature classes in five key areas:

• Saturday Morning Discovery, which provides exposure to the visual arts and encourages interaction between children, their parents, their grandparents and other caregivers;
  
  
• the new Artist in Residence Program, which will build on the foundation of the Mobile Arts Program, encourages a connection between teaching artists and local schools that culminates in a large-scale installation for collaborative projects, and will assist youth in expanding their creative abilities;
  
  
• Summer Arts Studios, a tuition-supported program that offers in-person classes for children and teens at the UTSA Southwest studios each June, July and August. With support from generous donors, scholarships are provided to students according to talent and need;
  
  
• Kids Initiating Design Solutions, a partnership with four SAISD schools – Riverside Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, J.T. Brackenridge Elementary and Hawthorn Elementary – where local architects and engineers volunteer their time to teach low-income children the basic principles of architectural design and urban planning through the instructional services of volunteer local architects and engineers; and
  
  
• The Teen Intensive Studio Program, a low-tuition teen program that provides talented middle school and high school students with an opportunity to advance their education in the visual arts under highly qualified instructors and guest artists, while preparing their portfolios for college.

A young student takes part in one of the summer camp classes at UTSA Southwest.

“After supporting the Young Artists Programs for two decades under the former Southwest School of Art, the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation recognizes these programs provide great educational benefits to the student participants through high-quality instruction,” said Laura Vaccaro, CEO of the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation. “In the years following the pandemic, we’ve seen less philanthropic dollars flowing to arts organizations. We hope that this gift will inspire others to see the value of investing in arts education for all students and the profound good that comes from building vibrant communities.”

Kim Bishop M.F.A. ’22 coordinates the Teen Intensive Studio Program.

“This support from Kronkosky will help us to take the very talented high school and middle students in this program to the next level and assist them further in preparing to pursue visual arts education in colleges and universities. I am very proud that 100% of our students have gone on to college,” Bishop said. “Young artists who want to pursue higher education and careers in the visual arts need specialized, individualized instruction. It is a great joy to see so many teenage artists build upon the foundations they learned as children in the Young Artist Programs to become amazingly competent artists even before entering college.”

Students in the Teen Intensive Studio Program have the option of receiving college credit for their learning. Through the UTSA Credit for Prior Learning program, students who complete the Teen Studio Intensive qualify to apply for up to 12 hours of college credit within the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts and its Art and Art History programs.

— Jennilee Garza