About FACT
Fine Arts for Children & Teens is committed to introducing young people to the power of art. We believe artmaking is an engaging, integrative process that teaches positive communication, problem solving, literacy, awareness, and lifelong learning skills. By working with students and teachers, FACT encourages arts learning that is rigorous and fun -- and that positively influences student success.
Access
FACT emphasizes bringing arts-learning opportunities to under served areas. Nearly 80% of the students we serve are considered at-risk, and many come from some of northern New Mexico's lowest-income and highest-crime neighborhoods. Because we believe access to art is transformative, 90% of our programs are free to all participants, and we are always finding new ways of introducing more young people to the power of art.
Our Story
Fine Arts for Children & Teens is built on the belief that the power of art can transform lives. Founded in 1990 by Juliet Myers and Rosanne Kadis, FACT began by providing art workshops for Girls Inc.'s public-school latchkey program and offering Saturday morning community art classes. Within three years, FACT brought classes to Santa Fe public schools and opened a studio in Santa Fe's Railyard District for year-round programming.
By 1995, FACT was reaching students ages 8 to 18 and collaborating with Partners in Education to provide art workshops for area schools. Our innovative six-part teaching method was refined as we initiated ARTreach programs in selected Santa Fe public elementary schools and began formally training instructors and public-school teachers.
In 1998, we moved to our current location in the ARTbarn at the Pink Church Art Center. Current executive director, Julia Bergen, joined FACT's staff in 2000 and under her leadership we have expanded programming across northern New Mexico reaching more than 4,600 students a year. FACT continues to receive local, state, and national recognition and support for its work in the arts and art education.
Our Approach
FACT provides innovative visual-arts classes to young people ages 5 to 18 at our ARTbarn Community Studio and through public schools and community partnerships. Our award-winning approach is simple: We adapt consistently structured classes to specific community needs. Built on context, language, demonstrations, artmaking, critiques, and exhibits, our teaching method gives our classes a solid foundation and instills youth with confidence in their abilities.
We make artmaking even more relevant to our students by responding to their communities, whether that means displaying art vocabulary words in Spanish or leading field trips to local museums and exhibits with a particular multicultural emphasis.
At public schools, our programs integrate art lessons with each institution's curriculum; using New Mexico State Standards and Benchmarks as a guide, we design each class to meet the developmental needs of specific age groups. To broaden students' understanding of art, culture, and community, FACT also maintains links beyond the classroom.
