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Young Audiences of WNY Seeks Executive Director

We don’t normally post a job opening on our website other than in the classifieds section. However, this executive search announcement by Young Audiences of Western New York is an exception. It is a critical hire that will impact the lives of thousands of young people, artists, teachers and cultural groups. We want to be sure that as many people as possible know about it so YA has a great pool of leadership candidates to choose from because it’s an important position in the community.

As anyone who is an advocate of the arts knows, we are in an ongoing struggle to nurture the creative talents of children in public school. When budgets get tight the arts are viewed as disposable. They are not. It’s been proven over and over that exposing children to the arts improves their thinking, their academic performance and broadens their perception of the world.

Criteria used to gauge school success measures achievement in math and reading. Extensive research shows that students who study the arts in school demonstrate significantly more positive outcomes than children who do not pursue arts coursework.

But the arts in public schools are always under attack and art programs and art/music teachers are the first targets in budget cuts.

To push back and keep arts in the lives of our children Young Audiences of WNY brings art to children through free events, workshops, and performances.  YA also connects young people with professional artists in schools, community centers, and out-of-school programs. If you look at the roster of area artists that work with YA on this effort you’ll see the names of some of Buffalo’s finest creative people. This valuable work also benefits the professional artists, which is equally important.

Founded in 1962, our regional YA is part of a national network. In addition to working with children, YA provides art education training for teachers. It’s a busy organization. Its roster includes 109 trained and qualified teaching artists who last year alone provided over 1,700 workshops, performances, and field trips. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, YA-WNY served more than 95 schools, libraries, and community centers. In addition, the organization served 22 cultural partners like the BPO, Albright Knox, Neglia Ballet, etc., through its Arts Partners for Learning program. If you get this job… you won’t get bored.

YA-WNY has retained Buffalo-based consulting firm, NuLevel Strategies, to assist with the search and transition. Details and requirements for this executive position can be viewed online at https://tinyurl.com/nuLevelYA