Working to provide talented youth from low-income Washington neighborhoods with an opportunity to develop their visual arts skills, the Corcoran School of Art developed the Art Mentorship Program. High school age youth are nominated by school or local community center visual arts teachers and then interviewed by Corcoran staff. Focusing on youth for whom the arts are an important part of their identity, Corcoran staff match teens with an artist/mentor. Once matched, both youth and mentor sign a 1-year contract, requiring that they meet at least twice a month, with phone calls weekly. Meetings include visiting museums, the artist's studio and the youth's home; buying arts supplies and even attending sporting events. Youth are paid a small stipend for travel and wages for 4 hours a month; the mentors are paid a nominal fee with which to buy arts supplies. As part of the Program, youth are entitled to take art classes at the Corcoran School for free and are given a membership to the Corcoran Gallery. Additionally, participants have access to two social workers who are associated with the Mentorship Program. The Mentorship Program has been recognized as a national model by the Hearst Foundation. In addition, the Corcoran provides free art classes to inner-city children at a variety of community sites, including churches and youth and neighborhood centers.