In The Media

Arts Conservatory for Teens on Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend….

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A non-profit in Pinellas County is helping teens discover a passion for the arts.

The Arts Conservatory for Teens works with underserved public schools and communities to educate, empower and enrich their students…..

As the nonprofit Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) celebrates its annual Champions for ACT Breakfaston the St. Pete Pier Thursday, the organization marks its 10th anniversary. That’s a decade of improving the lives of teens by using the arts to prepare students for high school graduation, higher education, and the workforce.

The brainchild of Dr. Alex Harris and co-founded with Herbert Murph, Shelia Reilly and Derek Berset, ACT has impacted over 13,000 local teens since its inception. It attracts philanthropic and private support because the transdisciplinary curriculum works. With a 100% high school graduation and 90% college placement rates, ACT has found that sweet spot of motivation, support, skills training, and leadership training for some of our county’s most at-risk students….

St. Petersburg-based musician and educator Alex Harris started the Arts Conservatory for Teens more than a decade ago to offer “world-class” training and performance opportunities in music, theater, dance, film, art, leadership and entrepreneurship.

With an eye on career development and improving the lives of teens through arts education, ACT is not a typical after-school program. It targets underserved school systems and at-risk communities, using the arts as a catalyst to prepare students for high school graduation, higher education and then local jobs. ACT is designed to enhance students’ problem-solving skills, self-esteem, and critical thinking skills through intensive creative study….

The 9th Annual Champions for ACT Breakfast at St. Petersburg Pier on April 21 was an inspired success. Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) CEO and Co-founder Alex Harris PhD and his wife Emily welcomed 240 guests attending. Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens extended her welcome, speaking for herself and for City of St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch….

ACT's ART Exhibit Installation focuses on raising awareness of the importance of each person's responsibility to contribute to sustainability. The title of the Arts Exhibit that is developed by our students and Artist-in-Resident, Aiden McKahan is EARTH IN ME. The title reflects and amplifies the inseparable reality of human existence and planet earth. We are Earth, Earth is Us.

The upcoming event is, Arts Conservatory for Teens' Art Installation, EARTH IN ME, Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at the Hermitage Luxury Apartment Gallery, Downtown St. Petersburg, FL.

Students from the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) performed with such passion and talent at the group’s recent fundraiser that the early morning crowd kept getting on its feet and clapping along.

Alex Harris and Herbert Murphy started and run ACT, a before- and after-school program that instructs teens in dance, singing, drama, band, coding and video production. Approximately 700 students a year go through the program. Participating students have a 100% high school graduation rate, and 90% go to the military or attend college, some on arts scholarships.

Contact ACT to book these talented teens for your event.

ST. PETERSBURG – Alex Harris and Herbert Murphy launched the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) in 2012 with a mission “to educate, empower, and enrich the lives of youth and teens in order to foster healthy, productive, and responsible citizens.”

Seven years later, ACT has continued to touch the lives of thousands of students and families, educators and community partners and boasts a 100 percent high school graduation rate and 90 percent college placement rate for its involved youth.

Local talent Alex Harris ignited the Tampa Bay Rays’ crowd with his rendition of the National Anthem at the Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers game on Saturday.

The performance did not surprise those of us who know Harris’ incandescent singing. Only his kindness outshines his ability. And no one would blame Harris if he chose to leave Tampa Bay and pursue greater success in New York, Nashville or L.A.

Harris, however, chooses to build his career while serving as the founder and executive director of the Arts Conservatory for Teens. His heart for sharing his gifts beats louder than his longing for stardom, yet I know his music — he has a new deal with Sony and a single, Make It Better, on iTunes, YouTube and Spotify — deserves a larger audience.

Arts Conservatory for Teens’ Co-Founder and CEO Alex Harris sits down with Tampa Bay Morning Blend’s Co-host Natalie Taylor to discuss the mission, what’s on the horizon for ACT and how arts education can be a powerful catalyst for change in the lives of the at-risk, underserved teens in our community.

Arts Conservatory for Teens mission is to educate, empower and enrich the lives of youth and teens in the community. ACT believes in the power of arts education as a catalyst of change in the lives of the at-risk, underserved teens in our community.

In this segment produced by students at St. Petersburg College in partnership with WEDU, the Arts Conservatory for Teens, or ACT, provides an outlet for local youth to discover and cultivate their creativity with the help of working artists in the Tampa Bay Community.

On this episode of #SPx, Joe and Ashley sit down with professional musician, entrepreneur and founder of the Arts Conservatory for Teens, Alex Harris. Harris has been running the highly successful ACT program for four years, the program has grown to serve nine locations and 800 students this year alone. The program boasts a 100 percent graduation rate in 2009, with 90 percent of students moving on to college studies. Through ACT, Harris and co-founder Herbert Murphy are changing the lives of underprivileged students throughout Pinellas County, chasing out fear and teaching business acumen.

On Wednesday, January 31st, the University of South Florida Saint Petersburg Student Government hosted a community panel discussion, moderated by ACT (Arts Conservatory for Teens) Co-Founder, Alex Harris.

PETERSBURG — Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) invites First Night St. Pete attendees to participate in COLOR ST. PETE, the New Year’s Eve event’s first-ever, interactive public art installation.

Led by ACT, COLOR ST. PETE is a public art installation project that provides an opportunity for the community to join together to express their creativity using a platform that extends beyond racism, separatism, classism and religious divides. All those who love the City of St. Petersburg–individuals, families, civic leaders, business owners, educators, are invited to express their thoughts, resolutions and hopes through the art of painting.

Through arts instruction and a fostered sense of community, the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) is designed to mold teens for a future in higher education and the workforce. It has even inspired a genie.

ACT co-Founder Alex Harris counts Anthony Murphy, currently starring in the national tour of the Disney musical Aladdin, as a program success story. Perhaps even more impressive is the magnet arts program’s consistent achievement: 100 percent of its participants graduate from high school; 90 percent pursue a college education.

Through arts instruction and a fostered sense of community, the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) is designed to mold teens for a future in higher education and the workforce. It has even inspired a genie.

ACT co-Founder Alex Harris counts Anthony Murphy, currently starring in the national tour of the Disney musical Aladdin, as a program success story. Perhaps even more impressive is the magnet arts program’s consistent achievement: 100 percent of its participants graduate from high school; 90 percent pursue a college education….

Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) invites First Night St. Pete attendees to participate in COLOR ST. PETE, the New Year’s Eve event’s first-ever, interactive public art installation.

Led by ACT, COLOR ST. PETE is a public art installation project that provides an opportunity for the community to join together to express their creativity using a platform that extends beyond racism, separatism, classism and religious divides.  All those who love the City of St. Petersburg–individuals, families, civic leaders, business owners, educators, are invited to express their thoughts, resolutions and hopes through the art of painting.

“We are so pleased to have COLOR ST. PETE represented at First Night this year,” said Allen Loyd, First Night executive director said of the public art project. “This vibrant, hands-on installation brings a great community activity and positive message to the festival.”

There’s something incredibly magical within the walls of the 1920 built, historic venue NOVA 535, in gorgeous Downtown St. Pete. Whether it is a wedding, birthday party, award show, live performance or anything in between, one thing is for certain: guests are always smiling and having a good time. It wasn’t any different on Saturday, September 17, 2016 when The Burg Exchange presented Wine Down For Youth Advocacy, an annual fundraiser benefiting Arts Conservatory For Teens.

Arts Conservatory for Teens is a non profit organization whose mission is to educate, empower and enrich the lives of youth and teens.

LoThose in tune with the performing arts scene in Tampa Bay have probably heard of Alex Harris. The award-winning recording artist has a timeless sound. He’s well known for performing originals and covers of classic hits by Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Otis Redding. But he’s much more than his music. Alex Harris is the co-founder of the Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT). In its fifth year in St. Petersburg, ACT provides before and after school programming that educates, empowers, and enriches the lives of underprivileged students. Now sponsored in five Pinellas middle schools, ACT meets the needs of over 500 students in the area. Harris and his co-founder, along with numerous volunteers use ACT to share their love of the arts and foster a confidence, creativity, and a sense of possibility for their students.

Through ACT (The Arts Conservatory for Teens), the COC has participated in a monthly family bonding dinner, where the youth and parents make a mutual commitment to success and recap the workshops they’ve been involved in that month. ACT also offers workshops that share useful parenting tips and help the youth better communicate with their parents during their monthly boding dinner.

ST. PETESBURG – The crowds doubled this year at the Art Conservatory for Teens (ACT) fundraising breakfast. With a mission of educating, empowering and enriching the lives of youth and teens through arts education, it’s no wonder so many people showed up to Morean Center for Clay May 4.

Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) celebrates its fourth annual ‘Champions for ACT’ Breakfast with keynote speaker Maestro Michael Francis, Music Director for the Florida Orchestra. The event takes placeFriday, May 4th at 7am at the Morean Center for Clay located at 420 22nd Street South in St. Petersburg.

The Hitt’em Over The Heart Award is a monthly program
dedicated to giving back to charities and organizations in need. Every month, the employee with the most bonus points gets the opportunity to choose an organization, and The HOTH contributes on that employee’s behalf.

ST. PETERSBURG — The Arts Conservatory for Teens (ACT) is striving to get young people involved in the arts so they can better themselves and the community. Co-founded by Alex Harris and Herbert Murphy, Sr., the organization has been giving the area’s youth a chance to shine in the spotlight since 2009.

Nearly a year ago, I wrote about changes — including key departures — at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast housed at the Royal Theater in Midtown.

The facility was home to the Senior Conservatory, which had been popular among teens interested in the arts. The program featured classes in drama, dance, music development, graphic arts and recording arts production. But that program was nixed when the Juvenile Welfare Board opted to only fund programs targeting children under 14 years old.