This is an affirmation of the strong cultural budget recommendation made by Mayor Carlos Alvarez and County Manager George Burgess. The support of the arts by County officials is especially gratifying given the tough financial circumstances the County is facing as a result of State-mandated property tax reform.

Our volunteer board, the Cultural Affairs Council, has done a great job communicating all of the wonderful work that is being done by our cultural groups and artists. The budget results are a tremendous vote of confidence in the quality and impact of your work in reaching kids and families and in making Miami-Dade one of the leading international cultural centers.

We will be in touch with our constituents regarding details for the new budget year. We look forward to working on another incredible cultural season.

Elegant and user-friendly, “Selections from the Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places Collection” features locator maps and addresses of public art projects, brief descriptions of the works and full color images. The brochure provides residents and visitors the opportunity to conduct self-guided tours of the collection and to learn more about our county-wide “museum” of art, created by Miami-Dade-based artists and by artists from all over the world.

“We are committed to making Miami-Dade County’s Art in Public Places program a national model of operational efficiency, artistic quality and programmatic accountability,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez. “This new publication is one of many steps being taken to demonstrate the importance of a public art program and to emphasize the high standards that we have set for the future of the program.”

To request a copy of “Selections from the Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places Collection,” please contact 305-375-4634 or culture@miamidade.gov.

Copies of the Selections from the Collection are also available through the Miami-Dade County Public Library System, Team Metro, Miami-Dade County Mayor’s and Commissioners’ offices. In addition, the publication is available on the Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places website in PDF format at www.miamidade.gov/publicart.

This innovative funding partnership is enabling the Department of Cultural Affairs to elevate its level of support to cultural groups dedicated to year-round arts programs for kids; support more opportunities for kids and their families to experience the arts together, in places convenient to their homes and schools; provide summer arts and science camp scholarships for kids who otherwise would not have the opportunity to participate in such programs; give thousands of children the chance to participate in arts experiences in their schools, after care programs and in their neighborhood art centers; and inaugurate new inclusive arts programs for children with disabilities.

As a result of receiving this important grant from The Children’s Trust, the Department of Cultural Affairs has been able to implement the following arts education and outreach programs as outlined below:

1. YOUTH ARTS MIAMI (YAM)

As a recurring, core grants program of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Youth Arts Miami Grants Program provides funding support to non-profit cultural organizations with a year-round presence in Miami-Dade County whose primary mission is to create, present or exhibit cultural programs for children and/or with children. The Children’s Trust funding has been used to strengthen the Department’s level of support available for this annual grants program.

2. YOUTH ARTS ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (YEP)

The objective of the YEP Grants Program is to enrich the lives of children through the arts by making the arts available to more children and families throughout Miami-Dade County, whereby, children are given opportunities to have positive live arts experiences through: Arts Instruction; Arts Intervention; In-school Performances; and/or Public Performances.

This program provides project-based funding in three categories based on the size of non-profit organizations to underwrite the costs of producing cultural activities in these areas. Priority attention is given to projects that address children whose ability to participate in such programs may be limited by geography, economics or disability.

3. SUMMER ARTS & SCIENCE CAMPS FOR KIDS (SAS-C)

The objective of the SAS-C Program is to grant funding to non-profit organizations that will provide underserved children in Miami-Dade County with opportunities to attend high quality cultural arts and/or science summer camp programs at little or no cost. Funding through the SAS-C Grants Program is intended to augment existing summer arts and science camps programs, providing more children with the opportunity to participate in cultural arts and science summer camps. Priority attention is given to projects that address children whose ability to participate in such programs may be limited by geography, economics or disability.

4. ALL KIDS INCLUDED – ACCESSIBLE ARTS EXPERIENCES FOR KIDS (AKI)

The objective of the All Kids Included - Accessible Arts Experience for Kids (AKI) initiative is to develop and fund projects that will provide ADA/Accessible arts experiences for children with disabilities, so that all children have the opportunity to participate in the arts.

In 2007, projects were developed and funded in two categories: demonstration projects to create innovative, fully accessible arts experiences; and “Start with the Arts for PreK SPED” to implement the Start with the Arts pre-literacy program for PreK aged children with disabilities in Miami-Dade County Public Schools special education preschool classrooms. The goal of AKI is to support high profile projects that will demonstrate that cultural programs can be developed so that all kids can have the opportunity to participate in the arts.