Great Lakes Center for the Arts celebrates impacting 20,000 students

Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review
·2 min read
The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is located at 800 Bay Harbor Dr. in Bay Harbor.
The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is located at 800 Bay Harbor Dr. in Bay Harbor.

BAY HARBOR — Since its start in 2018, the Great Lakes Center for the Arts’ Next Gen initiative has officially helped more than 20,000 Northern Michigan students.

Next Gen is a program hosted through the arts center to help inspire, entertain, educate and serve Northern Michigan communities through educational opportunities through the performing arts. Through the program, students are able to interact and learn from different artists while cultivating an appreciation for the arts, according to a release from the center.

The center for the arts has opportunities for students from preschool to high school through multiple genres.

On Dec. 9, 531 middle and high school students from six local school districts and homeschool families watched "The Book Thief" at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts. It was the first film in the Human[kind] Cinema Series, part of the center’s free Next Gen education and outreach program.
On Dec. 9, 531 middle and high school students from six local school districts and homeschool families watched "The Book Thief" at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts. It was the first film in the Human[kind] Cinema Series, part of the center’s free Next Gen education and outreach program.

In total, the Next Gen program has reached 21,800 students since its start.

Through the 2022-2023 school year, the center was able to reach 5,400 local students and educators across 30 public schools in five different counties. The center hosted seven in-person events as well.

This year, the program hosted its first “On the Road” shows as well as the launch of the “Human(kind) Cinema Series” — both in addition to a full season of performances.

Next Gen performances are provided free of charge to the different area schools, funded by the center’s donors.

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“Next Gen is honored to serve schools, educators and students in Northern Michigan as it connects children and young people to the broader community through the performing arts,” Next Gen director Rachel Sytsma-Reed said in the release.

Through the program, students have participated in masterclasses with Second City improv, a political seminar from Maine Sen. George Mitchell, music workshops with groups like The Accidentals, the Michigan Rattlers and more, and dance masterclasses with Pilobolus and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

The center's values are based in accessibility, community, diversity, exceptionality, integrity and sustainability. The center is working to be recognized as a leading Midwest performing arts presenter by 2025.

For more information on the center’s educational opportunities, visit greatlakescfa.org/educational-programs.

— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN. 

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Great Lakes Center for the Arts celebrates impacting 20,000 students