Lollapalooza organizers on Thursday announced the establishment of the the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund for Chicago Public Schools students.
The $2.2 million funding, in partnership with Ingenuity Creative Schools Fund and the Chicago Mayor’s Office, will be distributed between 2021 and 2026 directly to Chicago public schools “where 105,000 predominantly Black, Latinx and low-income CPS students do not have access to the arts,” Thursday’s announcement said.
“We know that the next generation of artists and musicians is growing up right here in Chicago schools, yet too many children have little or no access to arts education,” said Charlie Walker, Partner, C3 Presents, Lollapalooza promoter. “The Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund aims to ensure that all Chicago Public School students have the opportunity to develop their creative talent.”
The Creative Schools Fund (CSF) has invested more than $15 million in public school arts education programs since 2012. During the 2019-20 school year alone, CSF funded $1.1 million in competitive grants to 114 CPS schools.
“For far too long, our children in low-income communities and communities of color have suffered from a chronic lack of creative spaces in their schools,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a statement. “This investment and partnership with the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund will significantly help to address this issue and enrich the lives of more than 100,000 students by giving them the resources they need to thrive academically and artistically.”
