AISD & Long Center Partner to Expand Access to the Arts for High School Students

By: May. 28, 2014
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The Long Center and the Austin Independent School District have announced their partnership on a new program that will increase accessibility to the arts for young people. eyeGO to the Arts was successfully launched in Canada in 2000 under the guidance of Long Center Executive Director and CEO Jamie Grant, then serving as the General Manager of the Centre in the Square theatre in Kitchener, Ontario. The Long Center and AISD are now partnering to bring the program to the United States for the first time.

Through eyeGO, $5 tickets to ALL Long Center Presents productions will be made available to any high school student with a valid ID. This means that, unlike the more common 'rush' tickets which allow students to buy discounted seats only on the night of a performance, eyeGO tickets go on sale at the same time as single tickets. With eyeGO, students will also have the opportunity to purchase front-row seats, the same as other patrons do. Every Long Center Presents show is available, not just those that may not be selling well.

With arts funding continually being cut in schools, eyeGO to the Arts is dedicated to making the arts accessible and affordable for high school students. Less expensive than a movie, eyeGO to the Arts empowers youth to consider live performances as a viable entertainment option. By making the performing arts financially available, all high school students have the opportunity to experience, by choice, the powerful and positive influence of live performance.

"As presenters we simply must step up," Grant said. "The most fulfilling thing I can do in my job at the Long Center is to make our programming more accessible to more people. This is how we engage a new generation and foster an appreciation for the arts. In the end, our community will be so much better for it."

eyeGO tickets are only available only calling 512.474.LONG (5664) or by visiting the Long Center's 3M Box Office located at 701 West Riverside Drive at South First Street.



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