Meet Emily Kubitskey of Global Arts Corporation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Kubitskey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I knew when I was 12 that I wanted to be a music educator. I grew up in Kentucky, and in middle school, I loved being in the band, and the orchestra, and the choir – I loved the music, I loved the people, and I really loved being a part of something that was bigger than me. In college, I received my degree in music education and shortly thereafter moved from Nashville to Los Angeles to pursue a career. I spent ten years working for and learning from other music education non-profit organizations and eventually decided it was time to pursue starting my own!

Three years ago, just before the pandemic hit, I took the massive leap in establishing and incorporating my own non-profit, securing initial funding, and eventually receiving our 501-c3 status. It was a huge accomplishment, and while starting a music education organization during the pandemic has been unbelievably difficult, it has been equally rewarding.

My passion within music education has always been helping provide underserved families and communities with the opportunity to learn music, and with my non-profit, Global Arts, we do just that in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
To no surprise, the largest challenge was the pandemic. We received our 501-c3 status in December of 2019 and were on a total high! We were ready to go, had secured a rehearsal space, and started our music classes in January of 2020. We all know what happens from there, but it was especially difficult to maintain excitement and traction from such a new program – both from students and supporters. Because we were so young, we didn’t even come close to being eligible for any grant funding and it took a lot of work to show individual supporters the importance of (virtual) music education with an unestablished organization.

Fortunately, what pulled us through was our small but mighty team of educators. The four of us wholeheartedly believe in our mission and because of that, it was very apparent to everyone we spoke to how passionate we were about providing these opportunities for this community. We were able to keep the students involved in meaningful and intentional ways and we were able to show outside supporters that music education needed to be a priority now, more than ever, in the lives of these children.

As you know, we’re big fans of Global Arts Corporation. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Global Arts is a music education non-profit organization based in the Pico Union neighborhood of Los Angeles. We provide free after-school music classes to children in the neighborhood and are currently located at two community sites: ‘Camino Nuevo Castellanos Elementary School’ and ‘With Love Market & Cafe’. At our core, we genuinely believe that music is not only an important skillset but a fundamental right. We believe that through music and music classes, children can improve their self-esteem, find their voice, and ultimately feel empowered to change their own communities from within.

We are a very small organization, and I believe that what sets us apart from others is our intentional growth. We believe that in order for to students to have a meaningful and impactful experience in our program, that our teachers must be constantly supported and given opportunities for growth. We only increase the number of children we allow in the program when we feel that we have the teacher’s support to do so. We believe that impact runs much deeper than numbers – we believe that impact is the value of a child’s life.

Brand-wise, I love the positivity and sincerity of who we are and how we are displayed to the public. I love everything from our colors and logo (designed so incredibly by Amí) and I love the genuineness of our daily social media presence (thanks to the amazing Kate). It all reflects so well who we are and what we do on a daily basis. And I feel that it helps us truly represent who our kids are so that people who can’t come visit our program get a little glimpse into how wonderful our students are.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Hah! I don’t know, I’m a pretty open book. Probably that I’m an extroverted introvert. I’m a very high energy, but deep down, I need to recharge and be by myself so that I can do it all again the next day! Being around people all day in a leadership role really takes it out of me, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Pricing:

• We provide a program free-of-cost for children, so all support comes from individual donors: https://globalartsco.org/donate

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.globalartsco.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/globalartsla
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globalartsla