Involving Teens in Public Art: Arts Fund Offers Mentorship Collaboration with Pianos on State

By the Arts Fund

The Arts Fund is excited to announce a collaboration between its Teen Arts Mentorship program and Pianos on State, a program of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative. This September, Santa Barbara County high school students are invited to work with past piano artist and mentor Irene Ramirez. As a group, students will contribute ideas and elements, then work together to prepare and paint their final design alongside other Pianos on State artists at the Community Arts Workshop.

Applications are open for this and other free mentorship programs in both north and south county, including: Typewriter Poetry with Simon Kiefer, What’s Next? with Jamie Dufek, and Poetry & Self-Expression with Cie Gumucio. 

“This mentorship helped me see myself as an artist without guilt or expectation. Besides helping me open up and share a creative space with other people, it gave me a freedom to see the ideas inside myself waiting to happen.” —2024 Teen Arts Mentorship Student

The final piano design will be on view during the Pianos on State public art event this October. Students will also have the opportunity to exhibit their design ideas and sketches during the annual Teen Arts Mentorship Exhibition.

ABOUT TEEN ARTS MENTORSHIPS

The Arts Fund’s Teen Arts Mentorship Program provides tuition-free mentorship, pairing small groups of high school students with professional working artists. The 30+ year program provides arts enrichment opportunities for students of Santa Barbara County outside of a typical classroom setting. All students 13-18 are invited to apply to one or more programs. Learn more on The Arts Fund website: https://artsfundsb.org/TAM

ABOUT PIANOS ON STATE

Pianos on State is an interactive public art and music experience that takes place every October in downtown Santa Barbara. Each piano, painted by local artists, becomes its own interactive piece placed in public space for the community to play, listen, and enjoy. Each year, piano painting takes place at the Community Arts Workshop; it’s a weekend of artists of all styles and stripes trading tips and information and making art together. The 2025 application period opens June 1st and ends July 10th. The theme for this year’s design is Time. Click here for guidelines and application: pianosonstate.com/apply