This calendar year, we at P.S. ARTS have been celebrating our 35th anniversary advancing equity and opportunity through arts education in public schools! For three and a half decades, we’ve championed equitable arts education, and we’ve found that the consistent throughline in all the work we’ve done with countless students in that time is that every student’s story matters. It’s the reason behind our motto: “We have the freedom to imagine. We have the power to create.” And it’s the reason why we decided to celebrate the power and creativity of storytelling in this year’s Theme & Anchorworks Guide, “We Are the Stories We Tell.”
For 35 years, P.S. ARTS has believed that every student, educator, and community member, carries a unique narrative shaped by creativity. To mark this milestone, we are thrilled to announce our latest campaign: 35 Stories. Launching ahead of the year-end giving season, this initiative brings together 35 voices to reflect on the connection, expression, and enduring impact of arts education. Drawing upon the P.S. ARTS community—from staff and students, to supporters and educational partners—this collection honors how individual experiences, when woven together, form a larger collective portrait of our community, and the powerful impact art has on us all.
At the heart of the celebration is a dedicated digital archive showcasing all 35 stories, creating a lasting archive that will live well beyond this milestone year. As part of our year-end campaign, we will also bring a selection of these powerful testimonials to the forefront through social media and in our newsletters, inviting our broader community to explore how art changes lives.
We invite you to join us in celebrating 35 years of creativity, advocacy, and growth by exploring the collection and supporting the next generation of storytellers. Stay tuned as we drop stories throughout the rest of the year and weave our digital story quilt. Follow along at psarts.org/35-stories, and discover how your support helps keep the arts alive in our schools!
