The Aiken Center for the Arts has received a grant from Bank of America to help support and grow its programs, Creativity Out Loud and Beginning Group Strings, in an effort to make the arts more accessible.
Aiken Center for the Arts fosters partnerships and engagement opportunities to build community by creating greater access to the arts for all. This past year, when the ACA received the 2023 South Carolina Governor’s Award for the Arts, it was in large part to continue to grow an inclusive arts community where all residents are given the chance to find their voices and explore new ideas. With constantly changing economic and health landscapes, charitable grants and fundraising are critical to supporting nonprofits like ACA.
“The Aiken Center for the Arts is honored with this grant from Bank of America,” Executive Director Caroline Gwinn said in a news release. “These funds help further our mission of expanding an inclusive culture, specifically to disadvantaged or underserved populations of our community.”
ACA is excited to announce several programs that are opening the doors of the arts center to area youth. Each week students ages 5 through 18 can be found in a class learning to play the violin, raising their voices in song or learning to play the keyboard, all at no cost. These programs are made possible by funding from organizations like Bank of America.
“We are committed to the arts and continuing our partnership with one of our local cultural treasures, the Aiken Center for the Arts,” said Ora Parish, president of Bank of America Greater Augusta. “By supporting programs like Creativity Out Loud and Beginning Group Strings, we provide our communities with access to art and culture that not only offers social and education benefits, but also act as an economic driver for the region.”
The strings programs currently serve 67 students ages 5 to 18. This program takes students with no music experience and helps them progress into higher level violin classes, learning to play in a group with the ensemble and culminating with the Aiken Youth Orchestra. Led by Angela Shaw, these programs allow students to experience music through the violin.
Shaw encourages students to stay positive and apply themselves. For some students, this opportunity may mean that they continue with outside private instruction from area professionals and perhaps pursue musical studies in higher education. Success in this program may also mean that the student gained confidence because they contributed valued sound to the note or piece being played.