“Leaving a legacy, loving the arts, and learning are among the goals of NetworkArts.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer June 20, 2001

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Programs
For over 18 years, NetworkArts has created and conducted programs that
engage children in the classroom, after school, and on the weekends.
The non-profit organization’s educational focus guides children
through uncharted territory by exposing them to new concepts and the
opportunity to leave a lasting educational legacy for their communities through the
art form of tile mosaics.
Although NetworkArts offers educational programs in four main areas — science, humanities, intergenerational,
and region-specific outreach programs such as those
conducted every summer in Camden, NJ — its
primary goal is to promote environmental responsibility. Through the
resulting
citywide body of colorful mosaics, now numbering over 50, NetworkArts brings the critical concept
of environmental awareness to life.
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Each program includes an in-depth curriculum that literally
transports children into the subject they are studying. For instance, students
at the George Pepper Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia took a field
trip to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, a 1,000-acre freshwater
wetland less than a mile from the school. They researched the animals and
plants found there and presented them as reports and drawings. They molded
clay models of more than 240 birds known to migrate through Tinicum, explored the role
of wetlands, learned how wetlands are disappearing and what they can do to advocate for wetlands preservation. All of this formed the
foundation for the final masterpiece — a large, ornate mosaic created
on the front facade of a previously drab school building.
By touching the lives of many tens of thousands of children who have
created over
200 mosaics in the Delaware Valley region and Northern Ireland, NetworkArts
remains committed to expanding the horizons of children through education
and
art.
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