Arts for All Festival
The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens is home to the Jacksonville partner Arts4All Florida, a statewide organization that provides opportunities in the arts for individuals with disabilities. A community collaboration in the truest sense since 1995, this award-winning, transformative program offers regional students with differing abilities, their teachers, and families the opportunity to engage in unique art, gardens, and music experiences at the Museum. Each year, the Festival positively impacts the lives of thousands of individuals in northeast Florida. For children whose daily lives are often limited to the classroom and home, the Festival provides a safe place for them to explore a new environment and practice the social skills taught in the classroom alongside friendly, diverse volunteers from all walks of life.
Arts for All Festival: May 3–5, 2022
The annual Arts for All Festival is typically a four-day program at the Museum that welcomes more than 1,300 students with differing abilities. Students engage in art viewing, interactive live music storytelling, and hands-on artmaking activities throughout the entire Museum campus, including the galleries, gardens, and studios.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Museum hosted a virtual Festival in both 2020 and 2021, inviting our partner schools and organizations to participate from the safety of their classrooms and at home. In 2022, the Cummer is planning a hybrid Festival that offers both in-person (May 3 and 4) and virtual (May 5) opportunities, combining elements of both experiences in a way that respects individualized comfort levels while offering the most rewarding, authentic experience designed specifically for this important and often underserved audience. The Arts for All Festival provides students with differing abilities the distinct opportunity to express themselves by providing access to high-quality art and gardens in ways that spark their imagination, curiosity, and creativity and fosters positive opportunities for growth, learning, and empowerment in children, teachers, volunteers, and caregivers.
The Cummer Museum is the only museum-based festival in the nation that engages students in arts activities within its galleries and alongside high-quality works of art. Children with intellectual and physical differences are given a rare opportunity to learn through human interaction and creative expression in a welcoming and encouraging environment.
In addition to offering a respite from the typical day, the Arts for All Festival experience elicits powerful responses and sometimes milestone moments from students. For example, a completely nonverbal elementary-aged student prompted tears from his teacher and caregiver when he verbalized for the first time ever while participating in musical storytelling with artist Ajamu Mutima. Art transcends abilities and differences. The Arts for All Festival unites our community, providing participants with experiences that leave lasting smiles and memories.
Presenting Sponsor
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
Sponsor
The Borowy Family Foundation
The Chartrand Famiy Fund
DuBow Family Foundation
The W. W. & Eloise D. Gay Foundation
Partner
Coker Law
Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville
Director’s Circle Donors at the Cummer Museum
THE PLAYERS Championship
Thomas M. & Irene Kirbo Charitable Trust
Underwriter
SABEL Foundation
Ina Taffet
Food and beverage provided by Bold Bean Coffee and Larry’s Giant Subs Riverside.