FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Kate Patterson
Tel: 415/252-4638 E: kate.patterson@sfgov.org

SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION TAKES YOUTH FROM  SOCIAL NETWORKING TO REAL LIFE  ARTS AND CULTURE EXPERIENCES WITH JAM
JAM is a web-based pilot program aimed at engaging students from the San Francisco Unified School District in arts and cultural activities in their communities

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, 2011—Director of Cultural Affairs Luis R. Cancel is pleased to announce the launch of San Francisco Jamboree and Music (JAM). Presented in conjunction with the San Francisco Unified School District, JAM is the first mission-based, social network game that nurtures a passion for the arts by connecting youth with artists and activities in their community. Developed by Nuvana, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a community of active learners, the program includes a variety of real-world missions that students can complete for points and prizes. Five San Francisco high schools including: Balboa, John O’ Connell, Civic Center Secondary, Gateway, and Academy of Arts and Sciences (at the School of the Arts) will be among the first schools in the country to participate in this innovative program. Select public high schools in New York City and Hangzhou, China, are also participating in this ground-breaking pilot.

“The Arts Commission was seeking a team that understood that we could use social networking techniques to engage our student population with the arts," says Director Cancel. "Nuvana shared our vision and demonstrated their approach that links physical-world art experiences with online tools that promote a community.”

The overall goal of JAM is to take young people from the insular world of online communications to real life experiences that broaden their understanding of arts and culture. The site achieves this goal through an array of “missions” or assignments that players can complete for points and other perks like free admission to the participating cultural organizations . Designed by arts education professionals, the missions are divided into various art-related categories with correlating points based on their level of difficulty. The site also has an instrument for players to suggest their own ideas for missions and invite their peers to participate. Once the players fulfill the mission requirement and capture their experiences through creative mechanisms such as film or photography, they post their work to the site where JAM personnel review and rate each submission. If the six-week pilot program proves successful, the SFAC will expand it next Fall.

Members of the press are invited to explore the website. Visit www.jam4art.org and enter the username SFACpress@gmail.com and the password artscommission.

About the San Francisco Arts Commission
The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts in San Francisco. We believe that a creative cultural environment is essential to the City’s well-being. Established by charter in 1932, SFAC programs integrate the arts into all aspects of City life. Programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Arts & Education, Cultural Equity Grants, Public Art, SFAC Gallery, Street Artists Licensing, and the San Francisco Symphony Youth and Family Concert Series. The agency’s core values are committed to the principle that all residents have equal access to arts experiences in all disciplines, that programs are provided comprehensively and evenly throughout the City, and that they are innovative and of the highest quality.

About Nuvana
Nuvana is dedicated to creating a community of active learners who play games that change the world.  Like “Flashback,” their American history game, and “InterroBang,” their problem-solving game, JAM is powered by the Nuvana™ game engine that provides missions to its ever-growing social network of students and mentors over the web and mobile devices.