May & June 2025

AE M192XP cohort at their AETS culmination celebration. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

VAPAE End of Year Wrapped

We can’t believe how fast this academic year flew by! Despite the political and environmental challenges that affected our campus and city, there have been many accomplishments to celebrate and highlight.

With gratitude to VAPAE’s very first cohort of 19 pioneering students back in 2012, this month, VAPAE’s 28th Arts Education Teaching Sequence cohort successfully completed their capstone projects by designing and teaching their original arts lessons. This outstanding group of students now becomes part of an impressive legacy of 308 VAPAE teaching artists that have designed and delivered original arts lessons to local K-12 Title I schools, helping young people across our city discover that their imaginations are vibrant and creativity is limitless.

Our other Spring courses have concluded their studies with final lesson planning and team micro-teachings, poster presentations, case studies on local arts nonprofits, and a pop-up art making experience. As we head into the summer, we want to highlight and share the impact our students, lecturers, and community and school partners have achieved this past year:

• 24 Arts Education Teaching Sequence students completed their capstone projects.

• Our AETS students were in 15 schools across LAUSD teaching their unique art lesson units teaching the arts to over 550 students.

• 5 recent VAPAE Alumni served as Teaching Artists through various community programming and VAPAE programs.

• Completed the 11th iteration of our Classroom-in-Residence partnership with the Hammer Museum.

• Hosted 23 guest speakers and arts workshop facilitators from various community organizations and schools in our classes.

• 10 new students were admitted into the VAPAE minor with 8 VAPAE minors graduating this year.

We are enormously proud of these impact numbers and all the extraordinary teaching and learning opportunities we have received and provided this year! We are also incredibly grateful for your support of VAPAE and advocacy for arts education across Los Angeles.

Coursework

AE 20: Intro to Community Engagement through the Arts

AE 20 students completed this quarter with fully researched case studies on Los Angeles arts organizations making significant community impact. Along with their written reports, students presented their findings through creative poster presentations in a gallery walk format, showcasing organizations including Creative Acts, Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, The People's Pottery Project, Metzli Projects, and The Latino Theatre Company.

This project serves dual purposes of developing students’ research and presentation skills while introducing them to potential internship sites, volunteer opportunities, and career paths in the arts. Congratulations to Arts Ed 20 students, and many thanks to Dr. Davida Persaud and TAs Davielle Boon, Jennie Jung, and Niall Murphy for their dedicated instruction throughout the Spring quarter!

AE 20 students reading poster presentations during their final class. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

AE 107: Visual Arts Methods for the Teaching Artist

AE 107 students concluded their Visual Arts Methods class with a pop-up community art event in Untitled Lounge at the Broad Art Center. In this special culminating gallery event, students showcased original works created throughout the quarter, including their colorful decorative Mexican Hojalata tin tile art pieces. Additionally, students hosted and facilitated several interactive activities, including a collaborative collage where participants depicted community values. Both invited guests and walk-in participants enjoyed the welcoming environment that students curated, headed by Lecturer Marissa Magdalena Sykes and TA Harrison Kinnane Smith. It provided a moment to step away from the stress of finals week by experiencing low-stakes art making that emphasized social and emotional wellness. What an engaging way to finish their coursework!

AE 107 students and participants collaging as part of the interactive art stations at the pop-up art gallery. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

AE M102: Introduction to Arts Education for Multiple Publics - Theory and Practice

AE M102, the first course of the Arts Education Teaching Sequence, concluded with students leading micro-teaching lessons on topics including beginning dance improvisation, an interactive exploration of camera obscura, board game creation, and architectural sketching techniques for a dream room design.

In addition to introducing students to introductory theories of arts education, each class focused on interactive art-making experiences within a range of arts disciplines. Ten students from this introductory AETS course will continue with the full program and developing their lessons further during school placements next year. Congratulations to all, and big thanks to Dr. Lora Cawelti and TA Kate Stone for a great first quarter!

AE M102 students engaging in micro-teaching activity. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

AE M192XP: Arts Education Teaching Practicum & Capstone Project

Our largest cohort of the academic year completed the Arts Education Teaching Sequence! 16 students implemented multidisciplinary arts lessons in K-12 LAUSD schools under credentialed Guiding Teachers.

Among the many outstanding teaching projects, a highlight included Isa’s collaboration with their Guiding Teacher Ms. Anvar Camacho from the UCLA Community School. Together they took their students to the Graff Lab as a culmination of their project on decolonial graffiti. Isa led a spray-painting demonstration and allowed students to spray their designs on the walls and pavement. Students worked in teams to create personalized, large-scale spray-painted messages. This is just one of many creative projects led by our VAPAE AETS students this quarter!

The close-knit cohort celebrated their final class together with a community meal, touching final reflections, special parting gifts from Lecturer Joannza Lo, and a farewell video from TA Andrew Child. With official VAPAE t-shirts and completion certificates in hand, they are ready to continue as teaching artists, scholars, and arts advocates. Congratulations to this exceptional cohort. We are so proud of you!

Lecturer Joannza Lo hugging AETS student, Mayu, after receiving her VAPAE t-shirt and certificate. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

UCLA Community School students showcasing their graffiti project at the Graff Labs field trip as part of AETS Student's, Isa, art lessons. Photo by VAPAE Staff.

In the Community

Van Nuys High School Dance Residency

VAPAE teaching artists Robbie Button and Cammie Kao completed a 6-week choreography residency at Van Nuys High School, teaching and setting a new choreographic piece called “Supercut” on 30 students in the Van Nuys Dance Company. Veteran LAUSD dance educator and VAPAE partner, Ms. Diane Hula, welcomed our teaching artists into the dance studio to create not only a spectacular dance but build a meaningful bridge between UCLA Arts and a new generation of outstanding dance artists. Thank you, Robbie and Cammie for your great partnership and deep impact!

Van Nuys Dance Company students with Teaching Artists, Cammie Kao and Robbie Button. Photo by VAPAE Staff

Research

From Research to Community Practice

On behalf of VAPAE and Arts for LA, VAPAE Research & Evaluation Specialist Lindsey Kunisaki presented research and recommendations for practice at Engaging with Prop 28 As a Community-Based Arts Partner, a webinar hosted by Create CA and the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area. Other presenters included CJ DeAngelus from Sacramento City Unified School District and Michele Hillen from NorCal Arts. The webinar was hosted on May 22, 2025, and the recording will be made available online.

VAPAE in the News

VAPAE’s Prop 28 research was also featured in the Spring 2025 issue of UCLA Blueprint Magazine, a publication devoted to improving Los Angeles and California. With a new perspective on the study conducted through Arts for LA’s Laura Zucker Fellowship for Policy and Research, this story details its findings and includes new commentary on the implications for the current state of Prop 28—and its future. The story was written by Jon Regardie. Read the full story here.

Image source: UCLA Blueprint Magazine

VAPAE relies on and is grateful for any and all support to help us maintain our mission to train the next generation of teaching artists and provide quality arts education to Title I schools throughout Los Angeles. Any amount is appreciated to help our program thrive. Check out our Giving Page to learn more.

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