Our Impact
Artsupla brings communities together to create lasting change, ensuring everyone has the chance to thrive. By championing health, empowering youth, and building pathways to financial stability, we help individuals and families grow stronger and more resilient—today and for generations to come.
ArtsUP! LA is a nonprofit theater and arts organization serving people of different abilities, military veterans, and Los Angeles based youth. We remove barriers to participation and provide unlimited possibilities for artistic expression, building diverse artists and audiences who are changing how the arts are presented and experienced.
Through the power of creativity, collaboration, and compassion, we address the unique challenges faced by each community we serve. Whether it’s expanding access to the arts, supporting underserved populations, or fostering inclusive spaces for growth and expression, Artsupla stands as a catalyst for transformation. We believe that when communities are empowered with resources, opportunity, and hope, they thrive—and so does the world around them.
Below are examples of how we are transforming lives through our programs.
CREATIVE YOUTH THEATRE
Only 4% of elementary schools offer theatre. Disadvantaged youth often feel disconnected from their communities and don’t have the pathways they need in order to be successful in school, career, and life. (Source: Americans for the Arts. 2013. Facts & Figures. Washington, DC.)
Our Creative Youth Theatre program is targeted to Los Angeles based students and are designed to inspire and improve student success, both academically and personally.
THEATRE BY THE BLIND
Vision impairment has been identified as 1 of the 4 most significant contributors to lost independence. (Source: Alliance for Aging Research. Independence for Older Americans: An Investment for Our Nation’s Future. Washington, DC: Alliance for Aging Research; 1999)
Blindness follows only cancer and AIDS as the biggest health fear by the public. (Source: American Foundation for the Blind. Quick Facts and Figures on Blindness and Low Vision. 2003)
Theatre by the Blind is the only theatre troupe in the country with an entirely blind cast performing original works. Our participants are not only blind but many also suffer from other ailments and challenges causing them to feel shy, awkward, and further isolated from the world. Theatre by the Blind gives participants a forum in which they can safely explore space to gain mobility and independence.
REX & FRIENDS
1 in 36 (or 2.8%) of children in the US were identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Youth with ASD experience lower connectivity between the brain hemispheres. This means they struggle with tasks that require them to combine information from various parts of the brain, such as speech, complex motor tasks, or social interaction.
For people living with the challenges of autism, alternative avenues of communication can provide a pathway for the autistic mind to bridge the gap towards interconnection; music is that bridge. Rex & Friends helps individuals of different abilities find their way across the bridge through music and performance. Music can transform their lives by offering important cognitive, social and emotional benefits. People who are blind or autistic need extra support (physical assistance, adapted programs, private settings) to access the benefits of enrichment provided by music education and performances.
VETERANS EMPOWERMENT THEATRE
Veterans are twice as likely as other Americans to become chronically homeless; Homelessness among veterans is often due to limited education and lack of transferable skills from military to civilian life and due to combat-related physical and/or mental health issues and disabilities. (Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.)
Veterans Empowerment Theatre features a variety of performing arts workshops and opportunities that give our nation’s brave service members a safe environment to voice their own heroic stories, personal tragedies, triumphs, and experiences through theatre.
Building Stronger Communities Together
Focus Areas
Youth Community
We create pathways for young people to reach their full potential—starting with early childhood education, continuing through academic support
Healthy Community
Financial Security
Transforming Lives, One Show at a Time
What Others Say About Us
"ArtsUP! LA provides my English learning students with an opportunity to accelerate their English language development through an engaging medium. Through the creation of original plays and performances, students employed important 21st Century skills, thus extending their learning way beyond the classroom."
"I saw my first play put on by this wonderful organization last night, November 15th. I knew some of the actors that were involved in the play. Everyone did an outstanding job. I can’t recommend this play enough. I wish I could go back and see it again. The play was audio described, and the audience was into all of the action provided by this marvelous cast. All of you did a wonderful job. I can’t wait to the next event."
"I have no doubt in my mind that the show in October will touch hearts and change lives forever. Once the people take their seats for the show, I have great faith that they will see just exactly what we’re truly made of. We may have to do things differently in daily life, but we still manage to thrive in the world. We break the barriers around us, look the world in the face and show them that living life without our sight is possible."
"Creative Youth Theatre provides a truly unique atmosphere based on non-competiveness and collaboration, where authenticity rules the day and there is no “right” way to act- there’s only the discovery of your own authentic voice as a creative person, respect for other people’s creative choices, and the joy that come from true process and collaboration."
Stay in Touch
We’re always excited to connect with members of our community.