Angelica Center for Arts and Music -ACAM is a community-based arts education organization whose mission is to nurture and mentor at-risk youth of the in the arts in the greater Pico-Union neighborhood.  ACAM seeks to empower youth, build self-confidence and self-esteem by developing their creative talents and honing their skills in music, theatre and dance.

This is accomplished by providing:

 

• Year-round, afterschool lessons in dance, music, and theater, free of charge.

• A safe environment, where youth can explore and develop their creative abilities through the study, practice, and performance of the arts.

 

A “whole family” approach to teaching the arts, encouraging siblings and extended family members to participate in and take ownership of the program.

The philosophy undergirding ACAM is a spirit of responsibility, collaboration, and community empowerment.  This spirit is cultivated with students and their parents.  They learn to be responsible to self and the group, striving for high standards, consistent attendance and participation in performances, juries, and judging juries. 
ACAM collaborates with New City Parish - NCP, our fiscal sponsor, to provide arts education for children at no cost.

 

NCP was formed in the aftermath of the 1992 Civil Unrest in Los Angeles by Angelica Lutheran Church and four other Lutheran Congregations to rebuild and to address community issues.  NCP focuses on health and wholeness, education, economic development, and building bridges for multicultural understanding.  NCP's eight congregations work to empower their neighborhoods through developing the critical analysis skills of their participants through using Paulo Freire's popular education methods to address community problems. NCP provides tutoring, mentoring, 3.5 million meals to the hungry, a million articles of clothing and educational opportunities to 10,000.  Many of NCP's recipients give back to the organization by acting as tutors and in distributing clothing and meals.