Mission Statement: To establish the arts as an essential part of young people’s education in order to develop their potential as creative and productive individuals. We carry out this mission by serving as a resource to all New Jersey communities and schools seeking skilled, professional artists to work with students, educators and parents; by establishing partnership programs in arts education; and through advocacy for the arts in education at the national, state and local levels

Vision Statement: We envision a state where all children realize their potential; where the arts are treasured for their intrinsic value and their ability to improve our schools and communities; where arts participation and the study of culture help children understand and value themselves, their neighbors, and the world they share.

Description:
Since 1973, Young Audiences New Jersey has been providing quality arts experiences to children across the state. Young Audiences artists sing, dance, act, sculpt, paint and play their way into the hearts and minds of schoolchildren every day, performing for nearly 420,000 kids pre-kindergarten through 12th grade across New Jersey in all 21 counties in the state. Now that’s a lot of applause!

A premiere professional development resource for arts in education, thousands of educators and artists across New Jersey are enriching their performances, teaching practices, classrooms and communities through Young Audiences of New Jersey’s residencies and workshops.

History:
Young Audiences of New Jersey is the state chapter of Young Audiences, Inc., a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the arts and to educating children.

Founded in 1973, Young Audiences of New Jersey originally presented European classical music performances in central New Jersey elementary schools. Over the next decade, the program roster grew to include language arts, dance, theatre, and the visual arts and new programs were developed for middle school, high school, pre-school and family audiences.

In the mid-1980's, artists from many other countries and cultures joined Young Audiences of New Jersey's roster, and schools across the entire state were employing our artists.

As Young Audiences of New Jersey continued to grown, the 1990s saw a fundamental change in the nature of our programs. Artist residencies and classroom workshops for students and professional development workshops for teachers became essential to our work and were added to our offerings. Educational partnerships, particularly in underserved areas such as Trenton, Newark, Vineland, Jersey City and Union City evolved and strengthened.

As we enter our 29th year, Young Audiences of New Jersey is offering more programs and services than ever before. Annually, 5,000 Young Audiences of New Jersey programs reach 600,000 students and 11,000 educators.

Young Audiences of New Jersey is the first arts education organization to be designated a major service organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and, as part of the national network of 34 Young Audiences chapters, the first to receive the National Medal of Arts.

Contact people:

Jaymie Stein, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) Rebecca Holden, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email) Maureen Heffernan, Assistant Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (609) 243-8999

Address:

200 Forrestal Road Princeton, NJ 08540 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.yanj.org

Directions:

FROM DOWNTOWN PRINCETON Take Alexander Road, Washington Road or Harrison Street to Route 1. Turn left onto Route 1 North toward New Brunswick. Pass under the Scudders Mill Road overpass. Turn right at the next exit onto Princeton Forrestal Campus/Sayre Drive.. . . (more)   Nearest Bus Stop: Princeton Junction Train Station