As soon as guests started to arrive at Free Arts 25th Anniversary Gala at the JW Marriot Camelback Inn and Spa, we could see that it would be a magical and festive night full of music, dancing, art, and celebration, as only Free Arts can. Over 300 guests joined us for the October 20th Gala, presented...
Our foster daughter is 17 and lost her whole family (mom, dad, brother, and sister) to violence a few years ago. She also experienced violence and trauma periodically since the day she was born. She was born in a foreign country with a lot of war. She moved to the States only five months before...
Resilience is defined as the ability to bounce back. But in our experience at Free Arts, resilience is much more intricate. At Free Arts, we define resilience as the ability to encounter trauma or disruption, allow that experience to shake you, process and learn from that experience, return to your own sense of identity and...
As the Free Arts team delves further into summer and wraps up the final installment of their Camp Series, I reflect on the significance of the experiences at camp and how they fulfill the Free Arts mission. The Free Arts program team worked tirelessly to make sure that all camp activities ran as planned, and...
2017 Multicultural Arts Camp (MAC) just completed its 21st year. This year Free Arts served over 150 children over two weeks. Participating children learned Tibetan Arts, Latin Arts, World Music, Spoken Word, and Swing Dance. Each day children were welcomed by 20 adult mentors who provided a safe, healing environment where the children could freely express themselves....
The final performance of Free Arts Theater Camp always proves to pull at the heart strings of those lucky enough to attend, and this year was no exception. Attendees were “moved to tears” by the courage of the young performers. The performance itself was powerful. Many audience members expressed that they were floored by the...
Our Camp Intern, Claire Newfeld, took over our blog to tell you about her experiences at camp! After interning at Theater Camp I was insanely excited to work at Hip Hop Camp. Unlike Theater Camp, Hip Hop Camp is only one week and the showcase is much different. Rather than being a traditional performance, each camper chooses...
One Saturday in June, children from four Valley group homes were treated to a musical extravaganza in the bright welcoming atmosphere of CREATE space at Arizona Science Center®. Free Arts, CREATE, The Phoenix Symphony, and Frank Thomas from AZ Rhythm Connection teamed up to craft percussion, string, and woodwind instruments. Because of The CREATE space’s generous donation...
Our Camp Intern, Maya Brown, took over our blog to tell you about her experiences at camp! — On June 6th, I started my summer internship at Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, and jumped in feet-first to the first session of Multicultural Arts Camp (MAC). Flash forward a week and I was hanging...
For that the last two weeks volunteers, artists, and Free Arts staff contributed to the success of over 140 children at Multicultural Arts Camp (MAC). At MAC, the children participated in workshops learning African drumming, swing dance, Latin arts, spoken word poetry, and world arts. Volunteers had the opportunity to participate in workshops along with...
