On May 20, Michelle Obama - honorary chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities - welcomed student performers from across the country as they took part in the first-ever White House Turnaround Arts talent show.

The event was held as part of a larger administration effort to leverage art, artists, and significant Department of Education resources to turnaround the nation's worst performing schools through Turnaround Arts, a public-private partnership that utilizes the arts to help narrow the achievement gap. 

President Obama spoke at the talent show, stating while surrounded by Turnaround Arts students that the "arts are central to the success of our kids. It's not an afterthought...something that's just kind of nice to do, it is necessary for these kids to succeed." 

Turnaround Arts is a strong partner of Americans for the Arts in advancing arts education across the country. Robert Lynch, CEO and President of Americans for the Arts, attended the show along with other members of Americans for the Arts' staff, and got a chance to play a homemade arts board game by one of the students (pictured above).

Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, Executive Director of Turnaround Arts California, is Americans for the Arts' Arts Education Award Honoree and will be presented with her award at our Annual Convention, June 13 -15 in Nashville, TN.