Arts for All is a collective impact project that strives to ensure that every child in Washington State has access to quality arts education classes and resources in the PreK-12 public school system.

Photo: Student at MoPOP's Fantasy Summer Camp.

Our mission

The A4A Coalition works for equitable access to arts education for all students across Washington State. 

Our vision

All Washington State PreK-12 students have access to culturally responsive, continuous arts education.

Our values

Belonging, Creativity, Empowerment, Innovation

Who we support

There are 1.1 million students spread across 295 school districts and 8 state-tribal education-compact schools in urban, suburban, and rural Washington State. Students statewide have inconsistent access to culturally responsive, continuous arts education.

Photo: Students in Ms. Baker's class creating watercolor art.

Photo: FY23 Arts 4 All Grantee. Photo by Izaya Colson - Washington Middle School.

Arts education

Within Washington State, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction identifies five categories of art: (1) Dance, (2) Media Arts, (3) Music, (4) Theatre, and (5) Visual Arts. Arts for All believes that arts education must be:

Accessible: arts instruction as part of basic education for all students provided by a certificated teacher with content area expertise.

Continuous: access to arts instruction throughout elementary, middle, and high school education.

Culturally Responsive: teaching that invites student knowledge, culture, language, and experiences into the classroom.

The A4A Admin Team leads statewide efforts to advance arts education access for all regions, districts, and schools in Washington.

Our administrative team

Tamar Krames is an arts administrator, a practicing multimedia artist, and an experienced K-12 certified teacher. She oversees grants and collaborative projects that support the creative practices of youth and educators with a focus on access to quality arts learning. Supporting innovative, community-based practices in schools has been at the core of her work for the past twenty years.

ArtsWA
Kalei Matsui is a multiracial teaching artist, indigenous culture bearer, and Founding Leader of Polynesian Dance Troupe Huraiti Mana. She has served as an arts administrator for 11 years and currently supports the Arts for All Coalition and AIE initiatives. Kalei views the arts as a vessel for igniting cultural pride and cultivating belonging.

ArtsWA
Manny Cawaling leads a coalition of non-profits and the creative industry, driving programs in science, heritage, and the arts. Prior leadership roles include Executive Director for Youth Theatre Northwest, Managing Director for Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, and Exhibit Developer for Wing Luke Asian Museum. He is a theatre artist, arts educator, heritage specialist and community organizer for access and equity opportunities.

Inspire Washington
Jessi Wasson leads the annual Cultural Futures Tour, visiting more than 20 communities across the state, cultivating legislative victories, and providing advocacy tools to organizations. She has held multiple positions as Stage Manager, Development Director, Company Manager, and Production Manager at theatres across the country.

Inspire Washington
Miranda Hein is a lifelong performing artist, arts educator, and arts advocate. Her artistic passions include the intersection between performing arts disciplines, and the intersection between personal and cultural experiences; her professional passions include advocating for equitable and meaningful experiences.

Arts Education Washington
Naho Shioya is a theatre artist, educator, and consultant. She is a mission-driven and value focused leader with over 20 years of experience. She previously served as the Co-executive Director of Arts Corps, a nonprofit providing free arts education opportunities to youth in Seattle and South King County.

SOZO Evolution

Our coalition

Our coalition offers statewide insight to Arts for All, uniting diverse voices across the state's regions. We refine the strategic plan, develop resources, and engage communities to expand arts learning for all students.

Featured

Amber Knox began as Managing Director of Tieton Arts & Humanities in 2018, fostering connections among people with diverse backgrounds, ages, and education levels though artistic & cultural programming. She believes that by ensuring access to inclusive arts engagement, individuals are empowered, and community is strengthened.

Becky Broyles leads the Washington Art Education Association as co-president. She develops art advocacy and collaboration among members, community resources, and state institutions in hopes of providing arts education for all. She is a visual/media arts educator at a parent-partner ALE public school called River HomeLink in Battle Ground, WA.

Beth Fortune is a change-agent in music education. A 21-year veteran classroom instrumental music educator, Associate Director for the Washington Music Educators Association, and current chairperson for the NAfME Council for Orchestral Education, Beth is also co-host of the forward-thinking music education podcast called “The Beth and Kelly Show.”

Gail Sehlhorst works toward equitable access to high-quality arts education for students across the district. Her passions include creating arts learning experiences where students thrive, take risks, and are in community with others.

Kaloku Holt from Kalihi Oʻahu has graced stages around the world well over 2 decades sharing his talents and love for his Hawaiian culture through music & hula. Kaloku is the Executive Director for Ke Kukui Foundation and Director for halau hula Kaleinani O Ke Kukui, both in Vancouver, WA.

Kristina Cummins teaches English and Theatre at Capital High School in Olympia. She earned her Bachelor’s in Theatre from CSUF and a MIT from Saint Martin’s University. Cummins served as Co-Chapter Director of the Washington State Thespians for eight years and is now the SW Region Director and Advocacy Chair.

Shantell Jackson is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, writer, speaker, and educator. She served in Higher Education for 15 years as a multicultural programming administrator. Through her work, Shantell explores the human condition contemporarily and historically, creating dialogue, building bridges, and fostering healing.

Tina Lapadula is a warrior for equitable arts education. For more than 15 years she helped found Arts Corps, the award-winning arts and social justice nonprofit. Tina supports the development of teaching artists locally and nationally through the Seattle Teaching Artist Network and Teaching Artist Guild.

Yvonne Peterson is a sixth-generation master basketry weaver. In passing this tradition to her children and grandchildren, she represents eight generations on Chehalis tribal artisans. Yvonne seeks to “transform the past into the future through a prism of caring” as a political scientist, educator, and intergenerational cultural awakener.

David Holland leads Creative West’s advocacy and public policy programs and services and serves as the primary liaison with federal agencies, regional arts organizations, state and local arts agencies, and state arts advocacy groups. He leads the Bay Area Arts Policy and Leadership Seminar and is co-directing the development of the state of Washington’s Creative Economy Strategic Plan.

The Washington Youth Arts Leadership (WAYAL) Program is an annual cohort of youth and young adults (ages 16-19) from across Washington State. WAYAL leaders work with the Arts in Education (AIE) team at ArtsWA to explore and amplify the role of arts engagement in their communities. Young artists build community among their peers, gain leadership and communication skills, and explore arts careers with mentors in the field. Youth leaders receive a stipend for their participation.

Illuminate Evaluation Services is a small, woman-owned business based in Washington State, providing advanced evaluation, research, and consulting services through an inclusive and collaborative approach within the social services and education sectors. Many of their projects focus on the intersection of arts and education. Team members have delivered evaluation and consulting services to organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, among others. The Illuminate team strongly believes in evaluation as storytelling, striving to balance rich qualitative data with robust statistical analyses to convey the story of a program, highlight successes, identify inequities, and present recommendations that benefit both funders and beneficiaries.

Quadrant Research is a nationally recognized leader in research, analysis, and market intelligence serving the fields of culture, commerce, government, and education. Quadrant Research specializes in arts education and serves the four major arts disciplines: music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Quadrant Research provides data, analysis, and market intelligence to give clients an accurate picture of current market conditions plus the knowledge needed for future growth. The nationwide project coordinates with participating state departments of education to collect and report arts education data from State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) and other state department of education data sets on an annual basis.

Learn more about coalition goals

Download our logic model

Download our coalition history

Learn more about our work