Igniting the future

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The Spark Artistic Mentorship Program is an initiative to offer training and development in the performing arts to Black, Indigenous and students of color in the
Great Lakes Bay region of Michigan.

We are committed to building more opportunities for community engagement around access to arts education, and humbly seek partnerships with those who are already in the community participating in this kind of work. We are seeking collaborators and students to engage with us as we continue to grow and expand, building what we hope to be a vibrant community.

Thanks to all our supporters who made Give Local Bay 2025 a HUGE success for the SPARK Artistic Mentorship Program! The $7,400 raised has been matched by an incredibly generous donor, meaning SPARK will add over $15,000 to its endowment fund at the Bay Area Community Foundation, solidifying the future of our scholarship and mentorship program. Your belief in the arts and the students we serve is inspiring!

A message from our Spark recipients

Spark Scholarship gives a John Glenn graduate the opportunity to shine

A year after he was awarded $1,000 through the Spark Artistic Mentorship Program, Furtaw is poised to attend Saginaw Valley State University while working part-time as a teacher’s aide in music classes teaching at the Bay City Academy.
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Dancers tap their way to funding a performing arts scholarship

A group of Bay City natives, who each have thriving careers on stages around the country, came together recently to form the Spark Artistic Mentorship Program. On Sept. 12, fundraising for the scholarship kicked off Downtown Shuffle Around, an all-day tap dancing event in Wenonah Park.
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