WELCOME to the WHYARTS? WEBSITE!

During the past ten years, WhyArts? has been contracting with local professional artists to provide experiential arts workshops and residencies to individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities! Each workshop—whether it is music, theatre, movement, poetry, storytelling, or a visual arts activity—is designed so that each participant will have a successful and meaningful experience.

We provide over 350 workshops each year to preschoolers, older adults, middle schoolers, elementary age children and families. We especially value our time working with the intellectually and physically disabled and seniors experiencing dementia. We work in afterschool programs, shelters, work sites, senior residencies, nursing homes, adult day cares, and museums. . We work very hard to further the careers of artists themselves who are disabled.

WhyArts? is fortunate to have a cadre of very professional artists in all the arts media. Their experience and talent allows WhyArts? to build total programming for organizations—such as the Omaha Children’s Museum, Quality Living Inc, Camp Fire USA and Educare of Omaha.

These workshops additionally allow the artists to earn an income and build their own careers through working with such a diverse range of abilities and ages.

Future directions of WhyArts? are to establish ourselves as a “Builder of Arts Programming”, continue a large schedule of workshops and residencies, to invite additional artists to be part of our Cadre of Artists, and to continue to support our artists in their work.

Carolyn Owen Anderson
Director, WhyArts?