About Urban Gateways

Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education is a nonprofit organization that provides multicultural literary, performing, and visual arts programs for children, teachers, and parents in the Chicago metropolitan area. Our goal is to improve the quality of education for children by incorporating the arts into their daily lives. Participants encounter the professional work of artists from Chicago and around the world, engage in creating and appreciating art, and reflect on the process.

Our programs create shared and lasting experiences that connect our participants to their cultures, to each other, and to their own creative potential. Most importantly, their imaginations are ignited, instilling in them a love of learning and a discovery that anything is possible. Based on its creative and innovative concept, Urban Gateways received the 1995 President’s National Medal of Art and remains one of Chicago’s leading nonprofit arts education organizations.

While the majority of Urban Gateways’ constituents are school-based, our programs are adaptable to any learning environment. The pages of this website, as well as our annual catalog, offer an in-depth description of our programs, touring performances, and matinees.