CAP History
Beyond any project or performance, the arts add up to a well-rounded life. This belief inspired a group of volunteers to create a neighborhood dance class at St. John’s Cathedral in 1993. And it continues to inspire us today, after more than 30 years and over 40,000 students later.
CAP Founded
Founded by Gail Weltsek and a small group at St. John’s Cathedral, CAP offers one dance class to 10 children residing at a nearby transitional housing facility.
Dance Programs Grow
Services grow to include dance programs at area elementary schools.
Visual Arts and Violin Classes Added
Programs expand to include year-round visual arts and violin classes.
501(c)(3) Designation
CAP incorporates, receives 501(c)(3) designation, and elects its first board of directors.
First Student Showcase
Inaugural Visual and Performing Arts Showcase is held at Jacksonville’s historic Ritz Theatre and Museum.
Executive Director Hired
The Rev. Kimberly L. Hyatt is hired as the first executive director. Programs expand to include choral music and theatre, providing all four major artistic disciplines. The National Endowment for the Arts awards CAP its first grant.
Program Rigor Increases
Arts instruction grows to two afternoons each week throughout the academic year. Staff expands to include a Director of Programs.
Funding and Staff Expansion
Board members broaden financial support from the community. A grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund provides funding to create several new staff positions, including a Development Director, Business Manager and Program Associate.
Program Effectiveness Analyzed
The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida selects CAP as the only arts organization for a pilot children’s service program to develop a data maintenance and tracking system that analyzes program effectiveness. Inaugural Spring for the Arts event is held to raise funds for arts education in Northeast Florida.
Guardian of the Arts Award Established
The annual Guardian of the Arts Award is established to honor community members who safeguard and advance the arts along the First Coast.
Three-Year Strategic Plan Created
CAP creates and implements its first three-year strategic plan. Staff expands to include a Director of Community Relations.
Percussion Classes Added
Programs expand to include year-round visual arts, percussion and violin classes.
Strength During Recession
CAP is the only arts education program in the state of Florida selected to receive an NEA Recovery Act grant, preserving 24 teaching artist jobs in Duval County.
Summer Programs Launch
An Associate Director is hired to enhance CAP’s artistic excellence. Alexandre Renoir, great grandson of famed Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, visits CAP visual arts students. First summer arts program reaches over 900 students, preventing summer learning loss.
Kimberly Hyatt Receives Woman of Vision Award
Kimberly Hyatt receives the Girls Inc. Woman of Vision Award for Arts Achievement. Director of Programs Sally Giles wins the Excellence Award for Supervisor for Multi-Site Programs from the Florida After School Alliance.
CAP Becomes Member of the Arts Education Partnership
The Arts Education Partnership approves CAP as an official partner organization. Six newly created partnerships increase contracted services revenue.
Any Given Child Jacksonville Launches
CAP celebrates its 20th anniversary. Jacksonville becomes the 14th host city for the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child initiative. The initial phase of AGC Jacksonville begins and CAP collaborates with the community to complete the planning phase.
CAP Becomes AGC Jacksonville Host Organization
CAP becomes the host organization for AGC Jacksonville and hires an Executive Director for the advocacy initiative.
CAP Offices Relocate to Downtown Jacksonville
Administrative offices are relocated to the historic Elks Building in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Business Journal names CAP one of the Best Places to Work. Quarterly art exhibitions begin in the Heather Moore Community Gallery. The NEA awards one of 15 collective impact grants to CAP for its leadership role in the AGC Jacksonville initiative.
CAP Becomes Professional Development Provider for DCPS
CAP, AGC Jacksonville and WJCT host “Arts Education: Lift Every Voice” to discuss access to arts education for students. CAP becomes an official professional development provider for Duval County Public Schools. The NEA awards one of only 37 Art Works: Creativity Connects grants to CAP.
Charity Navigator Awards CAP Highest Rating
Kimberly Hyatt is selected as one of the Jacksonville Business Journal’s Ultimate CEOs. Charity Navigator awards CAP its highest-possible rating for outstanding financial health, transparency and accountability. Founded in recognition of CAP’s 25th Anniversary, the Curators Society is launched. CAP’s inaugural golf tournament is held at Deerwood Country Club. Chief Program Officer and Any Given Child Executive Director Allison Galloway-Gonzalez receives an Innovator in Education award from the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Teaching Artist Fellowships Begin
CAP celebrates its 25th anniversary. The 14th annual Spring for the Arts moves downtown to The River Club and raises a record-breaking $650,000+. CAP teaching artist Tony Rodrigues wins the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s Arts Educator of the Year award for his work with students at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Camp Encore, a multidisciplinary arts summer camp for children ages 6-11, is launched. CAP’s full-time teaching artist fellowship program begins and hires its first theatre fellow.
CAP Launches LEAD
CAP, in partnership with DCPS and Ingenuity, Inc., launches LEAD (Landscape of Education in the Arts in Duval), an NEA-funded project that includes a survey, analysis and report of arts education opportunities at DCPS schools and throughout the community. A second teaching artist fellow is hired to teach string classes and create the CAP String Orchestra.
Programs Taught Virtually During Covid-19
Two additional teaching artist fellows are hired, specializing in art therapy and dance. Programs shift from in-person to virtual instruction at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 70 virtual courses are taught by four teaching artist fellows.
LEAD artlook® Map Launches
Virtual and hybrid programs continue in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The LEAD artlook® map is introduced to the Jacksonville community. Two new positions are created - VP of Advocacy & Community Engagement, and VP of Strategy & Operations - to lead advocacy efforts for accessible arts education and guide the implementation of CAP's three-year strategic plan.
CAP Receives Largest Gift in Organization's History
CAP receives 3.75 million from the Foley Family Foundation. The NEA awards CAP its third Collective Impact award to support LEAD. Long-time CAP student and CAP String Orchestra member William Bell is awarded 2nd prize at the Crescendo International Music Competition and performs at Carnegie Hall. Kimberly Hyatt celebrates 20 years as CAP President & CEO. A grant from the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville allows CAP to create a classroom space on the second floor of the Elks Building.
CAP Celebrates 30 Years
CAP celebrates its 30th anniversary with a mayoral proclamation of Cathedral Arts Project Day on January 30. The 18th annual Spring for the Arts brings in more than $800,000+ to support arts education. The CAP String Orchestra Trio is awarded 1st prize at the Crescendo International Music Competition and performs at Carnegie Hall. CAP acquires Connecting Thru Music, expanding its therapeutic arts programs to include music therapy. Thousands of elementary school students attend CAP’s pilot field trip initiative.
A Year of Growth
Two pillars of the Jacksonville philanthropic community join to support CAP's Teaching Artist Fellowship model through gifts of $500,000 each - a testament to the value of the arts in children's lives. The 19th annual Spring for the Arts raises a record-breaking $820,000+ for arts education and therapeutic services. Thousands of elementary school students participate in the second year of the Field Trip Initiative. Members of the CAP String Orchestra perform at Harvard after receiving second prize at the Crescendo International Competition. The 8th annual Golf Tournament shatters its fundraising record by bringing in over $150,000.
Bigger Numbers, Bigger Impacts
CAP expands its extension programs to include the CAP Dance Company, CAP Studio Arists and the CAP Theatre Company. It ends the 2024-2025 academic year with the most students reached in its history: 4,328. The 20th annual Spring for the Arts raises a record-breaking $837,100 for arts education and therapeutic services. The CAP String Orchestra took home top awards at Music in the Parks, held at Universal Studios Orlando. CAP awards its first-ever Principal of the Arts award to Christopher E. Begley, principal of Samuel Wolfson School for Advanced Studies for demonstrating exceptional commitment to delivering high-quality arts education for students.
