For more inFormation or to

make a donation, contact:

Matthew Bregman

VP for Development

BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)

Peter Jay Sharp Building

30 Lafayette Ave

Brooklyn, NY 11217

718.724.8261

mbregman@BAM.org

BAM.org /Ignite

You are the spark.

the catalYst.

art ignites

curiositY and

ingenuitY.

art fires up

imagination.

Funding a new vision for arts education at BAM

funding a new vision

for arts education

at Bam

Your support will fuel a pioneering venture—a three-year, $15 million fundraising campaign that will establish BAM’s visionary arts education program as a new model for the 21st century. Ignite curiosity. Ignite fresh perspectives. Ignite passion.

Support us, and ignite the promise of art

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to:

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a M

ourit

zen

a catalYst for

arts education,

just when

we need it most

Schools are closing and arts education funding is being cut. Yet at the BAM Richard B. Fisher Building, a new era in arts education is just beginning. As the new home of BAM’s Education department and the springboard for the Ignite campaign, the BAM Fisher is a place of unlimited possibility, filling a void in the educational landscape and opening doors when others are being shut. The building is ready, the potential is endless.

The time to support Ignite is now

ignite possibility

Photo: Kyle D

ean Reinford

a plan for

the future

that onlY Bam

could envision

The Ignite campaign is a concrete plan of action that will spark new hope and possibility from a fire that is already burning strong. Today, BAM’s visionary education programs reach 220 schools and serve over 25,000 students, teachers, and parents annually—85 percent of whom are from underserved communities. Your support will help to double these numbers in five years, seizing on the momentum from the new BAM Fisher to do three things:

1 Build on BAM’s world-class resources

2 Expand with new programs for all ages

3 Bridge cultures with technology

ignite tomorrow

40 Teaching Artists30 School-time Performances

25,000 students, families, and teachers annually

85% from underserved communities

220 schools

50% in Brooklyn

1,800 Workshops and Films

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Building on Bam’s

world-class

resources

Imagine introducing kids to Shakespeare through live performances by Kevin Spacey and Simon Callow, or teaching them to move expressively with the help of masters of African dance such as Chuck Davis. As part of one of the world’s preeminent performing arts centers, BAM Education does exactly that. But we want to do more of it.

By supporting the Ignite campaign, you will help BAM expand the reach of beloved programs like Arts & Justice as well as transform pilot programs like Pilobolus for Kids into full-fledged realities, further connecting kids and families to resources that only BAM can provide

Simon Callow and students during a school-time performance of Being Shakespeareignite curiosity

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to:

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expanding with

new programs

Arts education works best when it resonates with the diverse life experiences of individual students. In the new spaces of the BAM Fisher and beyond, the Ignite campaign will allow BAM Education to present an array of new programs and events, including:

Residencies by international dance, music, and theater companies

Expanded teen programming

School-break and summer programs

Weekend performances for families

Each of these new programs is informed by feedback gathered from parents, teachers, and local residents in order to assure that BAM Education continues to serve its community and to do so from the ground up.

ignite creativity

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to:

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ehan

Bridging cultures

with technologY

At a 21st-century arts center, the classroom should be a boundless, interconnected place that takes students anywhere they want to go. Through a series of digital-technology-based initiatives made possible by your support, the Ignite campaign will lift the gates on learning to exponentially increase the number of ways students can access art.

You will help beam programs from the BAM Fisher to Asia, facilitate the live streaming of performances, and pilot a bold multi-year curriculum that uses exclusive online content to tell the history of American music

ignite access

meet a student

Name: Joshua, age 16

Lives in: Canarsie, Brooklyn

Ignited by: Dance, shadow theater, photography

“I can honestly say that both Dancing into the Future and Pilobolus for Kids have made me see the world in a different light. You start to realize that art plays a really big role in life. I love these programs just for the simple fact that they give me a way to express myself. There aren’t many programs that allow you to do so.”

Joshua participated in Dancing into the Future and was an intern at the Pilobolus for Kids spring-break camp. He is currently a senior in high school and hopes to one day open a photography studio.

ignite self-confidence

Pho

to:

Kyle

Dea

n R

einf

ord

“BAM helped me develop skills that I never knew I had.”

“An opportunity to learn at BAM is priceless.”

meet a teacher

Name: Cey Adams, age 49

Lives in: Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Ignited by: Graphic design, teaching, graffiti art

“One of the beautiful things about the arts education program at BAM is that it’s so outside the box. People have no idea. The teaching artists have a lot of creative license to do things that in some ways you wouldn’t think are done in a space like this. And that’s one of the things that keeps me coming back: we get to really push the envelope and talk about things that are relevant to young people living in Brooklyn and NYC as a whole.”

Cey has taught BAM’s signature after-school program, Arts & Justice, for six years. He is a graphic and graffiti artist—featured in the movie Style Wars—and the former creative director of Def Jam Recordings, where he worked with artists such as Run DMC, The Notorious BIG, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys.

ignite passion

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You are the spark.

the catalYst.

The Ignite campaign builds on BAM’s years of experience managing and developing successful education initiatives, which means that we know exactly where your support makes the most impact. Whether helping to develop BAM study guides for Shakespeare plays or build major infrastructural improvements, every level of giving sparks new possibilities

Expands weekend family programming throughout the year

Installs the infrastructure necessary for interactive web-based learning programs that ignite thousands—from Brooklyn to Boise to Beijing

Adds a week of performances for children, families, and studentsby a visiting company

Creates a new in-school residency program focused onthe underserved and reaching 500 more students

Puts 20 kids in a BAM summer intensive program

Creates Shakespeare study guides for 900 students and teachers

Allows 50 kids and their parents to attend a BAMfamilyscreening for free

$100k

$150k+

$50k

$25k

$10k

$2k

$500

An impact at every level of giving

ignitethe promise of art

Your support is needed now

Dear Ignite supporter,

In my 30 plus years at BAM, I’ve had the good fortune of seeing many lives touched by BAM’s adventurous programming. New worlds, brimming with possibilities, routinely open up on our stages and screens, and we’re thrilled that BAM has been a place of discovery & inspiration through the arts.

Having spent five years as a member of the New York State Board of Regents, which is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, I sadly watched how the creative aspects of learning have diminished over the last several years as a result of budget cuts and focus on other priorities.

Therefore, believe me when I say that BAM has never had as great an opportunity to affect as many lives as we have now. The Ignite campaign is about giving young people the chance to have meaningful cultural experiences for the first time—a chance they all deserve. Moreover, it is about reconnecting education with creativity to assure that our students have inspirational ways to learn. For these reasons alone, I sincerely hope that you will support our cause.

I have faith in this initiative because it’s a concrete plan for creative learning from an institution with a 150-year history of getting things done. BAM’s lifeblood is innovation. With your help, we can bring that same uncompromising spirit to our visionary arts education program and start changing lives from the ground up.

In short, BAM has the fire, the vision, and the experience. Thanks to the new BAM Fisher Building, we also have the space. To ensure BAM’s impact for generations to come, all we need now is the support.

Help us invest in the future by supporting this critical educational endeavor.

Cordially,

Karen Brooks HopkinsBAM President

“As a product of the New York City public school system, I know the challenges faced by young people in this city. I know

that art can transform lives. It gives us the power to question, to confront, to explore, and to challenge how we think about the world.” —Lucy Liu, Ignite Co-chair

“BAM is a special place—visionary in approach and international in scope. But real success means bringing that

approach and scope to all members of the community. The Ignite campaign will make that kind of profound impact possible.” — Richard Feldman, Ignite Co-chair

“Imagination is everything, and an education grounded in the arts sparks the imagination. Let’s help to build a generation

of creative thinkers by supporting the arts—and supporting a brighter future.”— Russell Simmons, Ignite Committee Member

creativitY.

curiositY.

opportunitY.

wonder.

joY.

Support us, and ignite the promise of art

igniteFunding a new vision for arts education at BAM