Conundrum Youth Programming Expansion

K-12 STEAM education

San Fernando Valley

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Access to affordable performing arts programming for youth is extremely difficult to come by, especially for those youth who are in middle school and high school. Arts funding in schools continues to be cut both nationwide and locally. Youth who come from low-income families, are in foster care, or are unhoused are often unable to experience the performing arts due to income inequality. California ranks 35th in the nation for arts funding. In addition, recent Federal grant funding from the National Endowment of the Arts is being canceled and L.A. County’s $1.2 million increase to the Arts Organizational Grant Program is at risk of being slashed by 50%. The City of Los Angeles, specifically, is facing a proposed budget cut of $516,000 to arts grants, jeopardizing over 355 creative jobs. All of these cuts are expected to have widespread consequences, including the loss of community arts programs that provide access to cultural experiences.

Conundrum currently offers summer camp and afterschool programming for youth, grades Kindergarten through 6th grade. Each summer, we offer three, 3-week sessions, where youth come together to learn and perform a full-length musical. We then continue our performing arts education into afterschool programming, teaching theatre classes to youth that focuses not only on performing, but theatre history, costuming, set design, and more. Last summer, thanks to funding we received from our local school district, we were able to offer the program at no-cost to those youth who are from low-income families, are in foster care, or are unhoused, giving them an expansive performing arts experience where they not only perform, but also learn social-emotional skills such as collaboration, confidence, and teambuilding. Those funds are no longer available to us unfortunately and our no-cost programming is at risk of being eliminated for those who need it. This grant would help support not only this loss of funds, allowing us to continue both afterschool and summer camp programming throughout 2026, but it would also allow us to expand programming to our middle and high school youth who have now aged out of our current programming. We would also like to pilot a new internship program where those high school students who want to be behind the scenes at our productions can not only learn from experienced artists but also receive a minimum wage hourly salary.

Arts education has been linked to improved academic performance, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Engaging in theatre fosters self-expression and emotional resilience, and access to performing arts ensures that youth from underserved communities have opportunities to participate in cultural programming, reducing disparities in arts education. In addition, our pilot internship program for high school youth helps young people transition into creative industries in California, providing mentorship, job training, and career placement.