We Fund the Arts for the Extraordinary

As the philanthropic partner of The Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts), we believe novice talent should have access to the opportunity and training to thrive, no matter their previous exposure to arts education or income. 100% of the arts conservatories are donor-funded, allowing ChiArts to champion an accessible arts education model for Chicago’s youth.

100% Donor-Funded
Arts Education

600+ Scholar-artists
each year

50/50 Chicago wards represented

96% Graduation rate*

Indoor mural at ChiArts
ChiArts Visual Arts Mural Course. We Are ChiArts. 2023, Indoor Mural.

Fueling Artistic Opportunities

As we remove the financial barriers, ChiArts continues to be the only pre-professional arts high school in the United States that actively recruits novice level students. Over 65% of students begin as novices, more than 40% of ChiArts students come from low-income families, and every student graduates as a scholar-artist with more than 2,500 hours of tuition-free pre-professional arts training from one of ChiArts’ five arts conservatories.

What we fund

Encouraging Holistic Growth

At ChiArts, arts and academics share a space. ChiArts scholar-artists participate in an invigorating daily schedule which includes five hours of CPS-provided academics, three hours of Foundation-funded arts education, and one to four hours of practice or rehearsal per day.

8AM-1PM: CPS-PROVIDED ACADEMICS

2PM-5PM: DONOR-FUNDED ARTS EDUCATION

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Support During and Beyond High School

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Netflix title card of "Giving Voice" showing the faces of the case including ChiArts alumni

Post Secondary Success

Alumni have gone to prestigious colleges like Dartmouth, Yale, Columbia New York, and many more. They are working as artists across the country at leading organizations like Netflix and NBC. Some have returned to ChiArts to teach, while others have pursued professional careers outside the arts. With 12 graduating classes, ChiArts has built an impressive community of artists, scientists, educators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers!

Student standing in front of a series of easels of her paintings

Alumni Support

Each ChiArts graduating class is an inspiration to the next. The ChiArts Alumni Network supports alumni professional growth while also continuing to build a community for meaningful alumni connection with the ChiArts family at large. We encourage alumni voices to guide our work. Through alumni insight and collaboration, we create programs aligned with the current alumni community’s needs, interests, and values.

Our community
‘16
Nia Lyons in a dance pose

Nia Lyons

Post-Secondary
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Currently
Company Artist at Collage Dance Collective, Memphis, Tennessee
‘18
Moises Salazar standing in a gallery

Moises Salazar

Post-Secondary
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Currently
Art exhibited nationally and internationally
’13
Kyrie Courter performing at Chicago's Goodman Theater

Kyrie Courter

Post-Secondary
Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA)
Currently
NYC-Based Actor, most recently in Broadway’s Sweeney Todd
’20
Gillian Koptik belting into a microphone with a guitarist behind her

Gillian Koptik

Post-Secondary
University of Missouri-Columbia, Journalism ’24
Currently
Digital Producer for VOX Magazine & KBIA Newscast Anchor
’16
Isaiah Collier playing the saxophone

Isaiah Collier

Post-Secondary
Brubeck Institute Fellowship
Currently
Grammy Nominated Saxophonist
Amisha Rigia & Arnett Faulker on stage at Kerfuffle

You make it possible

With your help, the ChiArts Foundation raises funds to provide tuition-free arts programs and opportunities for scholar-artists to flourish during and beyond high school.