Founded in 1997, the Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute is an intensive cross-sector training of artists of all disciplines and community activists of all kinds with 225 graduates.

The goals are to create and sustain strong arts-based community programs that amplify the voices of under-resourced communities; regenerate and unite neighborhoods; and create significant vehicles for positive change.

The CAT Institute is an innovative program centered on the belief that art has the power to be an agent for social change: For sixteen years, as the oldest sustained training of its kind in the country, the Community Arts Training Institute has provided a rigorous multiple-month curriculum to prepare artists of all disciplines and their community partners to collaborate in creating and sustaining significant arts programs primarily in under-resourced community settings, such as neighborhood organizations, social service agencies, development initiatives and education programs.

For more information about the CAT Institute, see "About CAT Institute" or contact Roseann Weiss at roseann@stlrac.org or 314/863-5811.

CAT Institute Class 2012/2013:

Program Spotlight

St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center - Cup of Ambition - Robert Longyear

Craft Alliance Community Outreach

Cup of Ambition St. Louis City Juvenile Detention Center Teaching Artist, Robert Longyear 2007 Craft Alliance Community Outreach provides exposure, enrichment, and education in fine contemporary craft to students at all skill and socio-economic levels. Community Outreach Programs include the Mural Arts Program, Crafting-A-Future, ArtSmarts, and collaborative partnerships with community groups, social service agencies, and other St. Louis institutions. I got a letter from the governmentThe other dayI opened and read itIt said they were suckersThey wanted me for their army or ...More Info