UC Davis ArtsBridge is a unique school/university partnership in
arts education, providing authentic, culturally relevant,
sequential arts education of the highest quality to students and
teachers in a wide range of regional K-12 schools. We serve
schools within Yolo, Sacramento, and Solano counties.
Lara Downes has served
as director of UC Davis ArtsBridge since 2003. An
internationally-renowned concert pianist and Artist in Residence
since 2004 at the Robert and
Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis,
she is strongly committed to introducing the arts music to K-12
students through her performance work, presenting a full range of
outreach activities ranging from advanced master classes to
introductory K-12 programs in conjunction with her concert
appearances. She is the founder and artistic director of the
Mondavi Center Young Artists Competition, and the founder and
President of the 88 Keys
Foundation, which provides pianos through private donations
to K-12 public schools.
To provide ongoing instruction in the arts for K-12 students in a
manner that allows them to explore their own creativity while
benefiting from the intrinsic and cross-curricular value of the
arts;
To provide continuous, capacity building professional support for
K-12 teachers that affords unique opportunities to integrate the
arts into the traditional curricula in ways that address both
local classroom needs as well as state and national standards in
the arts;
To provide school-based service learning opportunities for top
university students in the performing arts;
To promote and present career pathways in the arts among highly
qualified university students; and;
To conduct and disseminate research on partnerships in the visual
and performing arts that informs local educators, policymakers,
and the public at large.
