Ryman Carroll Foundation

RYMAN ARTS TRANSFROMS LIVES BY CREATING ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITY FOR A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF YOUNG ARTISTS THROUGH RIGOROUS EDUCATION IN FUNDAMENTAL ART SKILLS AND MENTORING.

2021 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTSBECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, RYMAN ARTS CONTINUED ITS FULL PROGRAM ONLINE FOR SPRING 2021, INCLUDING A VIRTUAL GRADUATION AND EXHIBITION. FOLLOWING STRICT COVID MITIGATION PROTOCOLS, RYMAN ARTS RESUMED IN-PERSON CLASSES IN FALL 2021. HOWEVER, LARGER GROUP ACTIVITIES INCLUDING ORIENTATION, COLLEGE AND CAREER PROGRAMS CONTINUED ONLINE.RYMAN ARTS DEEPENED ITS ALUMNI RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH WORKING WITH RYMAN ARTS ALUMNI WHO ARE NOW IN THE CREATIVE WORKFORCE, ADDING A NEW LAYER TO ITS CAREER SERVICES AS ITS ALUMNI SHARE THEIR CAREERS IN THE ARTS WITH THE NEXT GENERATION AND BECOME MODELS FOR STUDENTS. DURING SPRING 2021 CAREER PREPARATION WEEKEND, RYMAN ARTS HAD 19 VIRTUAL SESSIONS OVER THE COURSE OF THREE DAYS. THE SESSION TOPICS RANGED FROM PROFESSIONAL SPEAKING, TO RESUME WORKSHOPS AND HOW TO START A CAREER AS AN ILLUSTRATOR. MANY OF THESE SESSIONS WERE LED BY THE ALUMNI.RYMAN ARTS HAD SEEN A POSITIVE IMPACT ON ITS STUDENTS, AND THROUGH OUTREACH, WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND PROGRAMMING TO MORE UNDERSERVED AND NEW COMMUNITIES. IN 2021, RYMAN ARTS ADJUSTED ITS OUTREACH STRATEGY TO PROVIDE VIRTUAL OUTREACH PRESENTATIONS. THIS INCLUDED APPLICATION INFO WEBINARS, WHERE STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES JOIN ONLINE TO LEARN ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND HOW TO APPLY, AND INVOLVEMENT IN VARIOUS VIRTUAL COMMUNITY FESTIVALS. DESPITE OUTREACH LIMITATIONS AND PROGRAM CHALLENGES DUE TO THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC, RYMAN ARTS MADE 21 VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS, REACHING OVER 500 STUDENTS. RYMAN ARTS REMAIN COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH EDUCATORS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND HIGH SCHOOLS IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS FROM THESE COMMUNITIES ARE AWARE OF AND CAN PARTICIPATE IN RYMAN ARTS.RYMAN ARTS EXPANDED ITS COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES AND SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP STUDENTS TRANSITION TO COLLEGE AND BEYOND. 90% OF STUDENTS THIS PAST YEAR PARTICIPATED IN THE FALL 2021 COLLEGE PREPARATION WEEKEND, A VIRTUAL TWO-DAY EVENT WHERE REPRESENTATIVES FROM 29 COLLEGES AND ARTS SCHOOLS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY (RANGING FROM RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN TO LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN) MET WITH RYMAN ARTS STUDENTS, REVIEWED PORTFOLIOS, AND HOSTED FINANCIAL AID AND OTHER WORKSHOPS FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS. ADDITIONALLY, OVER THE COURSE OF THE TWO SEMESTERS, STUDENTS HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM VISITING GUEST ARTISTS, RANGING FROM PROMINENT MID-CAREER ARTISTS TO PROFESSIONALS IN A VARIETY OF CREATIVE FIELDS.SINCE 1990, RYMAN ARTS HAS TAUGHT FOUNDATIONAL DRAWING AND PAINTING SKILLS TO TALENTED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, PROVIDING OUTREACH TO YOUTH ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES ESSENTIAL TO PURSUING AND ACHIEVING HIGHER EDUCATION. IN DOING SO, RYMAN ARTS FURTHERS THE TALENT AND PROMISE OF AN UNDERSERVED POPULATION THAT WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE FEW OPPORTUNITIES-AND PLENTY OF ROADBLOCKS-TO THRIVE ARTISTICALLY AND ACADEMICALLY AT A CRITICAL TIME IN THEIR LIVES.FOR OVER 31 YEARS, RYMAN ARTS HAS IMPACTED OVER 27,000 STUDENTS THROUGH ITS CORE PROGRAM, OUTREACH EFFORTS, AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES. DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES, RYMAN ARTS' SERVICES ARE MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER AS WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE KEY ARTS EDUCATION ACCESS. AS THE ONLY FREE, YEAR-ROUND, OUT-OF-SCHOOL ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAM OF THIS HIGH CALIBER, CONSISTENCY, DURATION, AND IMPACT IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGION, RYMAN ARTS REDUCE BARRIERS AND INCREASE OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERSERVED YOUTH. EACH YEAR, APPROXIMATELY 500 STUDENTS ATTEND CLASSES ON SUNDAYS AT OTIS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN IN LOS ANGELES OR ON SATURDAYS AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FULLERTON IN ORANGE COUNTY. BOTH CAMPUSES HOST RYMAN ARTS FREE OF CHARGE. STUDENTS COMPLETE THIS DYNAMIC 1-YEAR-LONG PROGRAM AS MORE SELF-CONFIDENT AND COMMUNITY-MINDED INDIVIDUALS, POSSESSING LIFE-TRANSFERABLE SKILLS THAT TRANSLATE INTO ANY FIELD THEY CHOOSE TO PURSUE. ART COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY COME TO RYMAN ARTS' COLLEGE DAY EVERY FALL FOR RECRUITMENT, AND GRADUATES ARE ACCEPTED TO TOP COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, OFTEN WITH GENEROUS SCHOLARSHIPS. WE ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD TO REPORT THAT IN 2020, MOST OF OUR GRADUATES SUCCESSFULLY ENROLLED IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING TWO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA CAMPUSES, THREE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITIES, ARTCENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, BROWN UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, OTIS COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN, RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND MANY MORE.WHILE MANY STUDENTS CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES IN THE VISUAL ARTS, OTHERS CHOOSE FROM A RANGE OF ACADEMIC FIELDS, SUCH AS HISTORY, ECONOMICS, AND COMPUTER SCIENCES, OFTEN FINDING CREATIVE WAYS TO INTERSECT THESE WITH THE ARTS THROUGH DUAL OR JOINT MAJORS. DURING THE PROGRAM, STUDENTS HONE CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THAT ARE APPLICABLE REGARDLESS OF THEIR CHOSEN DEGREE OR VOCATION. APPROXIMATELY 1/3 OF RYMAN ARTS ALUMNI GO ON TO PURSUE CAREERS IN CREATIVE INDUSTRIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE, IN FIELDS SUCH AS GRAPHIC DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION, ARTS EDUCATION/ADMINISTRATION, FINE ARTS, ANIMATION, ARCHITECTURE, AND INDUSTRIAL/AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN. STUDENTS FREQUENTLY STAY INVOLVED FOR YEARS AS PART OF OUR ROBUST ALUMNI COMMUNITY AND SERVE AS ROLE MODELS FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE PROGRAM. MANY CONTINUE TO VOLUNTEER-INSTALLING EXHIBITIONS, ASSISTING IN THE OFFICE, CONDUCTING OUTREACH PRESENTATIONS, AND PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES-THUS PAYING FORWARD THE GIFT THEY RECEIVED.RECOGNIZED FOR ITS ENDURING COMMITMENT TO MENTORING YOUTH AND THE SUPERIOR QUALITY OF ITS PROGRAM, RYMAN ARTS WAS NAMED A 2019 PASADENA ART ALLIANCE IMPACT AWARD RECIPIENT, 2015 SOCAL PBS COMMUNITY CHAMPION, AND NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES YOUTH PROGRAM AWARDS SEMIFINALIST FROM 2012-2014.RYMAN ARTS CLASSROOMS REFLECT THE CULTURAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC DIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. STUDENTS COME FROM 180 ZIP CODES WITH THE MAJORITY COMING FROM LOS ANGELES COUNTY, AND OTHERS COMING FROM ORANGE, RIVERSIDE, AND SAN BERNARDINO COUNTIES, FROM BOTH CITIES AND SUBURBS. MORE THAN 90% ARE FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WITH 51% OF STUDENTS ATTENDING TITLE-1 DESIGNATED SCHOOLS. BASED ON ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE, THE MAJORITY IS FROM IMMIGRANT FAMILIES, AND MOST HAVE NEVER VISITED A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS OR TAKEN AN ART CLASS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL BEFORE. THE 2019-2020 SELF-REPORTED ETHNICITIES OF STUDENTS ARE 3% AFRICAN-AMERICAN; 45% ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER; 16% CAUCASIAN; 24% HISPANIC OR LATINO; 12% MULTIPLE OR OTHER; AND <1% AMERICAN INDIAN OR ALASKA NATIVE.SINCE INCEPTION AND THROUGH THE MOST RECENT CHALLENGING PANDEMIC YEAR, RYMAN ARTS HAS BEEN GUIDED BY A FORWARD-LOOKING BOARD OF DIRECTORS. IN 2018, THE BOARD AND STAFF CONVENED WORKING SESSIONS WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS TO UPDATE THE MISSION STATEMENT, AND THEN CREATED A DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PLAN. AN AMBITIOUS ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN COMPLETED, BRINGING THE ENDOWMENT TO $3M. THE BOARD CREATED A RESERVE FUND TO HELP WEATHER FUTURE ECONOMIC CRISES