About Us

Arts for Learning Maryland - About Us
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About Us

The arts change how we learn, imagine, and see what is possible.

Arts for Learning Maryland is the largest arts-in-education nonprofit in the state. We connect students and educators with engaging, curriculum-aligned arts programming that supports social emotional growth and inspires academic excellence.

Our Vision

One day, every student in Maryland will have the opportunity to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts.

Our Mission

Transforming the lives and education of our youth through the arts by connecting educators, professional artists, and communities.

Arts for Learning Maryland - About Us@2x
Arts for Learning Maryland - About Us@2x
Our Work

Early Childhood Through High School

Our programs begin with Maryland’s youngest learners and continue through high school, offering performances, workshops, residencies, and arts-integrated learning experiences that help students build skills, explore ideas, and see themselves as creators.

Supporting the Whole School

We also offer deeper schoolwide partnerships like Family Engagement events, Community Schools Coordinators, and Arts for Learning Days. These programs support student and family engagement, classroom learning, and school culture through joyful arts learning.

Learning Beyond the School Day

Our award-winning summer, after school, and internship programs give young people space to create, connect, and grow. These programs support academic learning, build community, and open pathways into the arts, culture, and creative workforce.

Professional Development for Educators + Artists

We support the adults who shape student learning through professional development, coaching, and collaborative planning. Educators, teaching artists, and school leaders gain creative strategies they can use in classrooms and school communities.

Arts-Integrated Teaching + Learning

We work with schools, districts, and community partners to design arts-integrated programs that respond to unique goals and needs, expand arts access, and strengthen learning across the school community.

Expanding Access to the Arts

We remove financial barriers. Our supporters allow us to reach communities of every socioeconomic background and geographic area by covering the financial gap between what schools can afford to pay and what professional artists deserve to earn.

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About Us - Our Work
Our Annual Impact
students engaged

140,910

students engaged
educators impacted

9,569

educators impacted
student learning hours

628,858

student learning hours
paid to artists

$3,078,725

paid to artists
counties reached III

21

counties reached
schools and community partners reached

395

schools and community partners reached
artists contracted II

368

artists contracted

These numbers reflect services provided Sept 1, 2024 - August 31, 2025.

Our People

Meet the staff, artists, and board members who bring our mission to life.

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Our History

Our story began in 1950 when we were called the “Young Musicians’ Series,” a live chamber music program founded by Nina Collier that brought musicians into Baltimore-area schools and cultural centers to perform for students. What began as a single music series has grown into Arts for Learning Maryland: a statewide organization helping young people learn and grow through the arts.

ABOUT THIS IMAGE: In November 1951, Mrs. Nina Collier (upper right), founder of the "Young Musicians' Series," smiles as she watches children plead for autographs from viola-violin duo Joseph Fuchs (upper left) and Lillian Fuchs (right center) after a concert at the Baltimore Museum of Art. (Photo by Dunaway, The Baltimore Sun)

Our National Network

Arts for Learning Maryland is an affiliate of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, a national network of local arts learning organizations dedicated to inspiring young people and expanding learning through the arts.

Our story is deeply connected to this larger movement. What began here in Baltimore in 1950 with the Young Musicians’ Series helped spark the formation of a national network that now reaches more than 5 million young people each year in schools and community centers across the country.

Together, the Young Audiences Arts for Learning network works to advance arts in education through advocacy, communications, fundraising, program development, professional learning, and shared support.

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Students raise their fists during a dance performance.