West Reading Avenues Spring 2018 - 12
In the Community
By Samantha Clarke, Director of Marketing - Yocum Institute for Arts Education
The Yocum Institute:
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
F
or eighty-four years, the Yocum Institute has been a
staple in Berks County, impacting the lives of generations of students and their families. Established in
1934 by Chester Wittell as the Wyomissing Institute of Fine
Arts, originally located at 824 Penn Avenue, "the Institute," as it
is affectionately known, opened its doors with only three music
students. Under Lila Lerch, the first managing director, "the
Institute" became a nonprofit organization, grew to over 300
students, and expanded its offerings to include music, dance,
theater, and visual art instruction.
Now, the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, named in
2009 after longtime donor, board member, and philanthropist
James H. Yocum, is home to a state-licensed kindergarten and
preschool, a theatrical production company (PrimaryStages
Productions), the Berks Piano Quartet, the Yocum Dance
Companies, Art Goes to School, and the Berks Art Alliance.
The multi-discipline educational programs it offers to the
community touch the lives of thousands of people each year
through onsite instruction and extensive outreach programs with
libraries, public and private schools, retirement communities,
and other nonprofit organizations.
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Avenues Spring 2018
Today, quality instruction and access to the arts remain major
priorities for the Yocum Institute. Innovative programs and
expanding partnerships help to widen the impact and benefits
of the arts in our community. Its vision of "education in and
through the arts" has increased the number of people served
through private instruction, onsite classes, exhibits, productions,
integrated arts summer camps, and outreach programs from
8,000 in 2008-2009 to over 25,000 people throughout Berks
County in 2016.
In 2018, the Yocum Institute is looking to expand and bring
the arts to even more areas of Berks County as it returns to a
site on Penn Avenue.
On Tuesday, September 12, 2017, the Yocum Institute for
Arts Education broke ground on a new building, located at
3000 Penn Avenue in Spring Township. The groundbreaking
was open to the community and preschool students and their
parents rubbed shoulders with former students from decades
past, staff, board members, and Mr. Yocum himself. Guests
were able to look at blueprints of the new space, renderings
of future rooms, and speak to those involved in the planning
of the building.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of West Reading Avenues Spring 2018
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