Then. Now. Next. Celebrating 20 Years - Art-Reach

Then: Celebrating Where We’ve Been
In 1986, Joyce Burd founded Art-Reach with a single premise—making
unused tickets from performing and visual arts events available to people
who did not have the opportunity to see a play or a dance performance
or go to a museum.
History
When Joyce was employed by the Boston
Ballet as a dance therapist in the early
’80s, she worked closely with special needs
populations using the medium of dance to
enhance their well-being. As part of the
program, tickets to ballet performances
were made available to dance therapy
participants. Joyce saw this aspect of the
program as a great way to expose individuals
to the performing arts who otherwise would
not have the opportunity. When she moved
to Montgomery County in the mid-80s,
she wanted to expand upon the concept
she helped to develop in Boston and was
determined to provide cultural experiences
for populations in need. And so, modeled
after existing programs in new York City,
Dallas, Denver and Atlanta, Art-Reach
was born.
Joyce W. Burd Program
Enhancements Fund
Many of the people Art-Reach serves express
an interest in having cultural experiences
that go beyond attending a theatre or visiting
a museum. To offer our participants deeper,
more hands-on cultural experiences, in 2004
we launched the Joyce W. Burd Program
enhancements Fund. named for our founder
and retired executive director, this fund
provides the resources we need to fulfill
our mission in a deeper way. As an example
of the fund in action, Art-Reach presented
scholarships to Women Against Abuse and
the YWCA of new Castle County, allowing
them to send young people to summer art
camp at the Philadelphia Art Alliance and
the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts.
I believe that the arts are essential to an
individual’s quality of life, regardless of age,
physical condition or economic status.
~ Joyce Burd, Art-Reach Founder ~