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Departures Partners with The HeArt Project & La Plaza de Cultura y Artes

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KCET Departures is thrilled to announce its upcoming partnership for the 2012/13 academic school year with The HeArt Project and La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

The HeArt Project was established 20 years ago to combat high school dropout rates with a long-term, sequential arts program. Through mutually beneficial partnerships, The HeArt Project offers students in alternative high schools a "pursuable life path that inspires them to stay in school, evolve as unique individuals and flourish as creative adults." As a constant voice in the cultural conversations on Los Angeles, Departures was selected with itsYouth Voices media education program in mind to allow the city's teenagers opportunities to connect and contribute to the discourse of shaping L.A. and augment the collective impact on students served in The HeArt Project.

La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, an official project of Los Angeles County and a Smithsonian Affiliate, provides interactive exhibits and dynamic programs centered around Mexican American culture. The mission of La Plaza de Cultura y Artes is to celebrate and cultivate an appreciation for the enduring and evolving influence of Mexican and Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles and Southern California.

The HeArt Project is in the process of developing a theme with its partners that relates to the content featured on KCET Departures and at La Plaza. Together, our three-way collaboration plans to focus on "The Pobladores," the 44 original founding families in Los Angeles. As a multi-ethnic city from inception, that part of our city's history is often forgotten. We will develop an intimate portrait of L.A.'s first community, via lessons from artists and works produced by the youth of the city.

To learn more about The HeArt Project and see past partnerships and projects, visit their site. Make sure to check out Departures: Youth Voices for our interactive neighborhood portraits, and a hint of the collaboration to come.

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