Center for Community Arts Partnerships at Columbia College Chicago

The Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP) was established in 1998 at Columbia College Chicago to create a formal infrastructure through which faculty, students, and administration could fulfill the college’s mission of civic engagement. CCAP’s mission is to create and nurture arts partnerships in the community that provide innovative approaches to civic engagement and service learning for Columbia College Chicago faculty, students and alumni. CCAP draws on the College’s expertise as the nation’s largest arts, media and communications college to create model arts-based educational and enrichment programs for young people, especially those living in underserved communities in Chicago. CCAP’s high quality programs in public schools and collaborations with community-based youth arts organizations use the arts as a vehicle for engaging and developing at-risk children and youth to improve academic performance, prepare for college, encourage self-sufficiency, and impart critical life skills, reaching underserved communities throughout Chicago, focusing on North Lawndale, Cabrini Green, Humboldt Park, Logan Square, and West Town.