“COMPAS will help a lot of people fulfill their dreams because I know it’s helping me fulfill mine. Without COMPAS I would have never found my passion.”
—ArtsWork Theatre Apprentice

Your generous gift will help youth like this apprentice fulfill their dreams. They earn a salary while working with professional artists for 6 weeks in the summer. Apprentice Artists learn to paint a mural; design and make jewelry; write a poem or memoir; perform in an original play; create a photographic documentation; and play and compose music.                                                                      

Subsidize Writers & Artists in the Schools (WAITS) residencies.

“Dear Mr. Blue: Thank you for telling us your stories. We really like the Snake, Mule and Looking Good stories. We like you. Come again.”
—Kindergarten student

Your generous gift will help youth in an underserved Minnesota school participate in a residency with one of our COMPAS artists. The WAITS roster of over 50 professional artists represents people working in every field from poetry or mural painting to shadow puppetry or jazz composition. By working with an artist, students will develop skills in a specific art form, as well as explore and celebrate diverse cultures.

“It was an absolute joy working with Ranee (Ramaswamy). She is a fantastic teacher and opened everyone’s eyes to a culture so many of us know too little about.”
—Elementary school teacher

Your generous gift will help teachers and students of all ages explore diverse art forms and cultures from around the globe through performances and hands-on workshops. Over 40 dancers, musicians, storytellers, and other professional artists bring a multicultural perspective that is increasingly important in today’s world.

A poem from Eyes Full of Sky,
the 2007 COMPAS Anthology of Student Writing

Angels
I hear the angels
singing
I look down
the grass is shivering.

Forrest Ahrens, Grade 1
St. Anthony Park Elementary School, Saint Paul
COMPAS Writer-in-residence: John Minczeski

Your generous gift will help produce an anthology like Eyes Full of Sky. Each year poems, short stories, dramatic works, and songs by students who participated in WAITS residencies are published in a high quality book that is edited and illustrated by COMPAS artists.