Local arts leader elected to national council

The head of a local arts program has been elected to serve on the advisory council of the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.

Matt D’Arrigo, CEO of ARTS (A Reason To Survive), in National City will serve a one-year term on the National Arts Education Advisory Council for Americans for the Arts. He was elected by Americans for the Arts members to help connect their work with the work being done by ARTS at the local level.

“The Arts Education Advisory Council oversees programs and services that meet the needs of arts education professionals nationwide,” said Kristen Engebretsen, arts education program manager of Americans for the Arts. “When it came to voting in members for the council, Matt immediately stood out because of all the amazing work he has done at ARTS.”

The vision of Americans for the Arts is to give every child access to high quality and lifelong learning experiences in the arts, in school and in the community. The organization believes that learning in the arts enables every individual to develop the critical thinking, collaborative and creative skills needed to succeed in the diverse and global economies of today’s world.

D’Arrigo said he was honored to serve on the council of an organization that does so much from the arts community.

“Working with such brilliant, like-minded people means so much to me as a member of the arts community,” he said.

ARTS is a 13-year-old nonprofit that uses visual and performing arts to bring hope, healing and self-confidence to youth facing adversities. The organization achieved national prominence last year when a documentary about Inocente Izucar, a former homeless student whose life was turned around by ARTS, won an Academy Award.

Under D’Arrigo’s leadership, ARTS has grown from a small outreach program at Ronald McDonald House with a $5,000 annual budget to a $1 million, full-service arts agency for youth. ARTS moved into National City’s old library in July 2012, tripling the size of the 7,000-square-foot space it had at Liberty Station in San Diego.

To learn more about ARTS, visit areasontosurvive.org. To learn more about Americans for the Arts, visit americansforthearts.com.