The Saginaw Art Museum, in cooperation with the Saginaw Intermediate School District (ISD), will be developing the Arts for All program with a special focus on enriching students’ lives through free memberships, youth programming, and field trips to the museum.
Through the initiative, students from all 12 public school districts, five public school academies, and 22 non-public schools in Saginaw County and their accompanying guests will gain admittance to the museum at no cost. When students come to the museum, they will indicate the school and grade they are from and be issued a unique Arts for All Membership Card that will be good for the duration of their K-12 education.
“We are excited to continue to remove barriers to participation in visits to the Saginaw Art Museum. Our vision is to spark the development of lifelong art lovers. We want to see students grow up with a richer appreciation for the value art brings to the community and beyond. The Saginaw ISD’s reach with school districts makes it an ideal partner for helping make this program happen,” says Mike Kolleth, President and CEO of the museum.
Saginaw ISD Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Collier adds, “The Saginaw Intermediate School District is consistently looking for ways to add value to the lives of the students, educators, and other stakeholders we serve throughout our community. This collaboration with the Saginaw Art Museum presents an incredible opportunity to introduce and instill a love of art for more than 26,000 students and their families.”
Throughout the summer and into the school year, drop-in and more structured art activities will be accessible at the museum both in the gallery spaces and in the museum’s garden.
In addition to the program’s membership and art activity portions, the Saginaw Art Museum is looking forward to welcoming field trips back to the museum in the fall with various targeted focus areas, including Social Emotional Learning and English Language Arts.
The Arts for All program is made possible through the generous support of the Dow Company Foundation, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Hemlock Semiconductor, the William F. McNally Family Foundation, the Margaret Jane Stoker Charitable Trust administered by Huntington Bank and the Harvey Randall Wickes Foundation.