Arusha Arts Initiative is a group of Juilliard actors, dancers, and musicians traveling to Arusha, Tanzania in May of 2009 in order to share the arts with students at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Center. The students at Umoja are between 14 and 26 years of age and do not attend the public school system, mostly for poverty-related reasons. Many rural families in the area move into the city with hopes for a better-paying job; however, once in the city, many realize that they do not have the proper education or skills to find work, leading them into poverty. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world and is in the heart of the HIV/AIDS crisis. It is estimated that 1.6 million people in Tanzania, 8.8% of the population, are living with HIV/AIDS. Umoja offers free classes to the students in Arusha to, according to their mission statement, “create a center of learning and thinking that empowers young people to create change in their lives and the wider community.”

The mission of Arusha Arts Initiative is to provide the community at Umoja Youth Empowerment Center with access to the performing arts. We aim to use the creative and collaborative skills utilized in the arts in order to guide the students in their personal development and to promote Umoja’s goal of empowering students to create change in their communities. During our time in Tanzania we will conduct an arts workshop to introduce each of our areas of concentration to the students through activities and games. In the first week students will take part in activities to develop skills such as creative thinking and problem solving. This will prepare the students for the second week as we guide them through the process of creating their own artistic performance. Working on a performance together will show the students that, even after we leave, they still have the skills and ideas needed to express themselves through the arts. It will also help reach the goals set by Umoja and us, encouraging the many advantages to exposure in the arts.

Our team is extremely experienced in outreach projects. Collectively we have participated in programs such as the Music Advancement Program, Instrumental Music Program, Gluck Community Service Fellowship, Winsor Music Outreach, AIDS Action Committee, Give Kids the World, and the Denver Care-A-Van program. Members of our team have represented The Juilliard School at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver, Colorado, and have traveled to New Orleans and Snow College in Utah for outreach programs.
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Arusha Arts Initiative is a group of Juilliard actors, dancers, and musicians traveling to Arusha, Tanzania in May of 2009 in order to share the arts with students at the Umoja Youth Empowerment Center. The students at Umoja are between 14 and 26 years of age and do not attend the public school system, mostly for poverty-related reasons. Many rural families in the area move into the city with hopes for a better-paying job; however, once in the city, many realize that they do not have the... (read more)