by Center for Architecture
The Center for Architecture is thrilled to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $30,000. This grant will support our Learning By Design:NY (LBD:NY) classroom residency program during the 2024-25 school year. LBD:NY is a hands-on, project-based program that builds students’ visual literacy, design thinking, and creativity through interdisciplinary architecture projects that enrich and expand classroom studies. This project is among over 1,135 across the nation, totaling more than $37 million, that were selected during the second round of Grants for Arts Projects in fiscal year 2024 funding.
“Projects like Learning By Design:NY exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection, and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
“During the 2024-25 school year, we are so pleased to be able to reach over 30 schools and serve over 90 classrooms and 2000 students,” said Center for Architecture Director of Education Lisa Mazzola. “Many of our partners are low-income and/or Title One schools with high percentages of students of color in underserved neighborhoods. We also support school communities with a high percentage of Multi Language Learners in some cases providing translated content as well as students with significant challenges. NEA support is critical in enabling us to provide program subsidies to these schools, helping to remove barriers to participation and ensure that the program reaches a diverse audience.”
LBD:NY provides students with a holistic arts experience that not only achieves New York State and City Arts Standards, but strengthens skills and knowledge in English Language Arts, social studies, and STEAM. Students are also introduced to architecture as a potential career, an important first step in diversifying the profession. Many program themes focus on the school’s local built environment, developing awareness and appreciation for America’s cultural heritage and communities. Others focus on the architecture of other places and peoples, helping students explore and understand traditions and cultures other than their own. All programs nurture their abilities as design thinkers, open their eyes to the role of design in their daily lives, and equip them with the skills and knowledge to take an active role in shaping their built environment.
Explore more Center for Architecture education programs here.