Art =
Impact
Every public library is an art school waiting to happen.
We place professional artists inside public libraries to teach free after-school art classes to the children who have none. The library gives the room. We give the paintbrushes, the artist, and the expectation that this child is an artist.
4 million children have no art class.
Arts budgets are cut first and restored last, and the loss compounds quietly for a decade. But low-income students highly engaged in the arts are twice as likely to graduate college as peers without arts education. The intervention is not complicated. It is a room, an artist, and a Tuesday.
One term, start to finish.
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September — Term begins
The library gives the room.
A branch offers its community room at no cost, in the neighborhood that needs it. No rent, no venue to build, no fee to the family.
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September to June
The artist residency.
A paid resident teaching artist works in the building and teaches there weekly. Classes cap at 20 and are grouped by age. The post is a funded residency, not volunteering — which is what makes the quality repeatable across 22 branches.
What the residency gives you- Term
- 30 weeks
- Pay
- $60/hour + $15/class
- Emerging Artist Alumni
- 328
Applications closed for 2026–27
About the residency -
September to June
The child keeps the habit.
Work goes home every session. 89% of students report spending more time at the library since starting, and 68% of those aged 8–18 check out a book around class.
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June — End of term
The term closes with an exhibition.
Student and resident artist work is shown together at a professional venue. Families come, and 62% of them pick up a book or use another library service while they are there.
Program Registration is now OPEN!
Free after-school classes taught by a working artist in your branch library. Groups are capped at 20 and split by age. Bring nothing; the materials are there, and the work goes home with you.
Enroll now- 1,066 students served across the network
- 53 classes every week
- 30 weeks of class, September to June
Explore our branches.
Free, always. Ages 4 to 18.
Classes run after school in your neighborhood library. No fees, no supply list, no audition. Children are grouped by age, and they take their work home.
Find a library near you
“Building the largest art school in the world without owning a single building.”The Wall Street Journal
