HFPA Grantee

The California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) is a cutting-edge and immersive four-week program for talented and motivated high school students in the arts, held on the campus of the California Institute of the Arts each summer. The school provides education in seven artistic disciplines: Animation, Creative Writing, Dance, Film, Music, Theater and Visual Arts.

The HFPA provides funding to qualified students, regardless of financial need, to attend the California State Summer School for the Arts for an intensive four-week program to learn from the industry’s leading professionals. $20,000 of the HFPA funding will be used to fund  Guests Artists in the film, animation, and theater program, $5,000 will be used to fund low-income scholarships for students from LA County and surrounding areas.

The CSSSA Foundation is currently reviewing applications for the 2018 CSSSA program – they receive an average of 1,700 applications per year. The program can only accept 520 students to attend the four-week program. Mr. Michael Fields (Director of CSSSA) is also working on inviting Guest Artists to attend this year’s program, organizing an event ‘Friends at CSSSA Day’ on July 7; inviting funders to see the school at Cal Arts, Valencia.

Executive Director Heidi Kershaw expressed that the CSSSA Program is a turning point for many students; alumni include successful artists like Adrian Molina ( Coco screenwriter), Zac Efron, Katharine McPhee, Pendleton Ward, Aya Cash, Alex Hirsch and Kirsten Vangsness. They hope to expand their Guests Artists program and hire more Outreach Coordinators in San Diego, Sacramento and in the Los Angeles area; so that more students will be able to apply to the summer program.

To learn more, visit: https://www.csssaf.org/