A handful of celebrities enjoyed Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport to show their humanistic values at the 14th annual P.S. Arts Express Yourself event.
The event raised funds for arts education in underprivileged California schools and their respective neighborhoods.
Hosted by P.S. Arts and The Bell Family Foundation, Express Yourself exhibited 40,000 square foot of arts and crafts booths, as well as child-friendly food, making it a one-of-a-kind family event.
The host committee included Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, and George Kotsiopoulos with a slew of guests and their respective families including Julie Bowen, Lisa Kudrow, Adam Scott, Ryan Potter, Jessica Capshaw, and Charlotte Ross, among others.
Hero of the Nickelodeon action-comedy series “Supah Ninjas,” 16-year-old Ryan Potter said he related to the situation students are going through.
“Palisades Charter High School (the school Potter attended before becoming an actor) had an arts program, and even though Pali (nickname of the school) was one of the more well-funded schools, the arts program was still affected a lot,” Potter said. “I think it’s extremely important for all of us to work together and make sure arts education thrives.”
Several artists were able to help by giving out art supplies at the Paul Frank “Decorate an Apron Station and Art Supply Roundup” booth.
“Royal Pains” actor Mark Feuerstein attended the event with his family.
“We’re here today to celebrate something so important to California: the arts,” Feuerstein said. “How sad would it be if the kids on or below the poverty line went to public school and didn’t get to experience music, theater, and dance? But thanks to P.S. Arts, over 12,000 kids get to be exposed to these things.”
Kimberly Brooks, a Los Angeles-based artist and P.S. Arts Board of Trustees member, believes whole-heartedly in public education and a top-notch arts education.
With one of her own daughters passionate about the arts, Brooks is personally and emotionally connected with art.
“Arts is often what keeps kids going to school,” Brooks said. “There are countless stories of students who won’t cut class because they have a favorite art teacher, and so arts education prevents truancy and inspires kids. You can’t get more amazing than that.”
With more than $500,000 solely raised at the Express Yourself event, P.S. Arts will continue to aid underprivileged schools by offering arts-related workshops for classroom teachers, integrating creative expression, and the arts into school curriculum.
