I recently had the pleasure of speaking with the Executive Director of Young Audiences of Western New York (YA-WNY), Cynnie Gaasch. With a diverse background in the arts Cynnie is poised to lead YA-WNY into its second fifty years.

NYSAAE: Tell us about the organization you lead – Young Audiences of Western New York.
Cynnie Gaasch (CG): Young Audiences began in 1950 with the mission to bring classical music to urban public school students. In 1962 an affiliated chapter was formed in Buffalo, NY to further the mission locally, and is one of thirty affiliates nationwide. Over the course of the past 48 years YA-WNY has expanded to include all arts disciplines and to serve both urban and rural youth. YA-WNY’s work focuses in an eight county region of Western New York, covering all areas west of Rochester. (There is another Young Audiences affiliate in Rochester.)

From the YA-WNY website:
“While the mission of Young Audiences of Western New York, to bring the arts to all the young people in our area, has not changed, the ways and means have; we see a not-so-subtle shift from simply inspiring young people to see and appreciate art, to also participating and understanding the arts in context of the world in general, and their lives specifically.”

NYSAAE: What projects or programs is YA-WNY excited about for 2010?
CG: YA-WNY has received funding to develop a new program centering on the Underground Railroad and its ties to the region called “Underground Railroad in Western New York”. This is a special project for us as it offers the opportunity to develop a program from “scratch” with experts on the subject matter, and carefully develop all the aspects and supporting elements, such as study guides. The program will be presented at Ujima Theatre’s Theatre Loft this March, and piloted in three schools this year with fifth and seventh graders.

This spring YA-WNY is also looking forward to presenting our annual “Arts Abilities Conference” which provides professional development for teaching artists, classroom teachers, and human services providers, on using the arts as a means to meeting the needs of all students, particularly those who are at risk of not graduating from high school or with special needs. YA-WNY will continue a partnership with the Association of Teaching Artists in presenting this year’s conference.

Additionally, YA-WNY, with the support of a grant funded consultant, will be engaged in the development of a capacity building plan to provide for the continued growth of the organization.

On the national front, Young Audiences Inc. is working to provide increased cooperation with and between its thirty affiliates, and working to expand the role of the affiliates in reaching a larger audience through collaboration with other arts organizations.

NYSAAE: Recently YA-WNY launched a completely redesigned website – can you tell us about some of the new features?
CG: We are very excited about the new look and functionality of our website. Months in the making, the new site offers a wide variety of new features. First and foremost the new layout makes the information on the site easier to navigate and more accessible. Our database of participating artists is now searchable on a number of different criteria, such as art form, curriculum tie-in, grade level, or keyword. For those interested in keeping up on our activities, we post information to Twitter and Facebook, and provide a monthly e-Newsletter which reviews information posted during the month to our blog. All this and we’re not done – coming in the Spring, we will be adding a section to the site where teachers can provide feedback on our programming, including completing surveys, submitting feedback, and uploading pictures.

NYSAAE: If a teacher were interested in bringing a YA-WNY program to their school where do they start, and how long does it take?
CG: The best place to start is on our website. Depending on the program, whether it be a workshop or a residency, we can typically schedule a program with as little as a month lead time. Typically programs for the spring are booked in the Fall, and vice-versa. On occasion we also provide support to schools on finding funding to support the programs they would like to bring in, most often in the form of guiding their fundraising and development efforts.

NYSAAE: Is YA-WNY currently accepting applications from teaching artists?
CG: We currently have over 120 groups on our roster representing over 150 artists, so our roster is quite full - That being said we are currently focused on recruiting artists who work in the following areas:
- New media artists, creating artwork to be shared digitally or online.
- Artists that represent the region’s diverse cultural community
- Artists with programs supporting students learning in math and science

NYSAAE: You hold a BA in Liberal Arts from Hampshire College, and MFA in painting from American University. You have done some extensive work as both a writer and a grant-smith. How do you classify yourself as an artist?
CG: I consider myself an artist first and a writer second. The writing part of my career came as part of working in the Not for Profit arena, where grant writing comes as a necessity – also I was asked to serve as art critic for the Art Voice here in Buffalo and through that work found that I communicated well through the written word.

NYSAAE: Any particular experience or teacher as a child that impact your choice to make a career in arts management?
CG: Dance. When I was young I was very involved with dance. From classical ballet, to jazz and tap, the typical dance school fare. It was an everyday part of my life in high school. At that point I was a perfect illustration of student that excels in other subject because of involvement in the arts – thanks to dance I was a very strong math student, my math teachers encouraged me to become a mathematician. It was when I was in college that I made a conscious decision to focus on visual art over dance (or math).

NYSAAE: You have been with YA-WNY since 2003 – serving as Development & Publications Coordinator – becoming ED this past August. Prior to YA-WNY you served at a number of galleries and arts centers – how did those experiences prepare you for what you are doing today?
CG: My experience with the Not for Profit community (beyond the arts as well) helped me to develop a network of contacts in Western New York, and develop a strong knowledge of the cultural and arts scene which has been very useful in helping me to do my job well.

For more information on Young Audience of Western New York, click here visit them online.

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