YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS INVITES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN YBCA: YOU, A FREE, GROUNDBREAKING

ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM

Pilot session of new, personalized “aesthetic fitness” program includes

free admission to all YBCA events

YBCA, 701 Mission St, San Francisco, Calif, 415.978.ARTS (2787), www.ybca.org

FREE – Open to registered participants only

Registration deadline: February 28, 5 p.m.

Orientation: Tuesday, March 1, 6 p.m.

To register: e-mail Laurel Butler at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (January 27, 2011) — Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) announces the pilot session of YBCA: YOU, a free “aesthetic fitness” program designed to empower individuals to make arts learning an ongoing part of their lives. From March 1 through November 30, up to 100 participants will embark on a highly personalized, dynamic arts education curriculum organized around aesthetic themes and YBCA’s Big Ideas. The YBCA: YOU cohort will be given free admission to all YBCA performances, films, exhibitions and community engagement events, and encouraged to use this all-access pass as they would a gym membership. Participants will also be offered opportunities to take part in exclusive behind-the-scenes socials, artist talks and field trips.

YBCA: YOU’s education and engagement specialist, Laurel Butler, will act as an arts-focused personal trainer, assisting with individual goal development, ongoing self-assessment and final evaluation.  In addition, she will organize exclusive behind-the-scenes socials, artist talks, and field trips aimed at strengthening the YBCA: YOU community and fostering the exchange of ideas among participants.

“Ultimately, we want more people having better and deeper experiences with art,” says Joël Tan, YBCA’s director of community engagement. “This pilot is about an actual live human guide connecting with individuals and small groups to experience arts and cultural events that are custom-tailored to their aspirations, desires, and educational goals. We invite anyone looking to build their aesthetic muscles to register, whether they want to learn a few pointers for their next cocktail party or attend all the openings in town and just need the motivation to do it.”

YBCA: YOU’s approach is based in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a research-based teaching method that improves critical thinking and language skills through discussions of visual images rather than through academic instruction. VTS is the technique currently used in YBCA’s successful Art Savvy programs. This progressive arts education method provides a supportive, dynamic setting for participants to deepen their connections to contemporary art, starting with refining their observational skills.  No prior knowledge of contemporary art is necessary.

To register for the March 1 orientation, applicants must e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 5 p.m. on February 28 with their name, age, telephone number, and one sentence on why they would like to register for the program. Participants must be at least 18 and will be selected based on their interest in collaborative arts enrichment and the ability to make a nine-month commitment to the YBCA: YOU program.  Due to the pilot nature of the program, participants will be expected to provide feedback on their experience to help shape future sessions.

About Laurel Butler, Education and Engagement Specialist

Laurel Butler is an educator, director, performance artist and creator of physical theater. She received her M.A. in Theater Education and Community Outreach with distinction from the University of New Mexico, where she was the instructor of Theater for Education and Social Change, and the Outreach Fellow at UNM’s College of Fine Arts. She also received a Bachelor of Arts in Performance Pedagogy and Community Cultural Development from Hampshire College.

Before coming to YBCA, Laurel served as the artistic director of The Actor Inside Program, producing theater and dance productions with inmates and juvenile offenders in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was a member of the outreach faculty of Keshet Dance Company and an educator with the National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Artes los Martes and Circo Latino programs. Butler has served as executive director of Theater-in-the-Making and Children's Center theater director for the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and founder/director of the Albuquerque Street Theatre Brigade. 

About the Big Ideas

Each year, YBCA selects four Big Ideas around which to organize its wide-ranging programs. This year’s Big Ideas include ENCOUNTER: Engaging the social context; SOAR: The search for meaning; REFLECT: Considering the personal; and DARE: Innovations in art, action, audience. These ideas, which encompass art from all disciplines, are designed to focus an investigation of contemporary art and its relationship to the larger world. Using the Big Ideas as portals, YBCA has established a framework of thought that invites exploration and risk-taking, quiet reflection and active engagement.

About Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), located in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena cultural district, is one of the nation’s leading multidisciplinary contemporary arts centers. With a belief that contemporary art is at the heart of community life, YBCA brings audiences and artists of all backgrounds together to express and experience creativity. The organization is known for nurturing emerging artists at the forefront of their fields and presenting works that blend art forms and explore the events and ideas of our time. As part of its commitment to the San Francisco Bay Area, YBCA supports the local arts community and reflects the region’s diversity of people and thought through its arts and public programming.

Performing arts, visual arts and film/video programs are curated thematically around Big Ideas which illustrate the connections and associations between the works. Public programs and Big Idea Night Parties, YBCA’s popular free open house series, are dedicated to establishing a deeper understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. YBCA presents programming year-round in the Forum, Screening Room, Galleries and Novellus Theater. For tickets and information, call 415.978.ARTS (2787) or visit www.ybca.org.