Have you ever been to a SOLD OUT benefit? With a second line from dinner to dancefloor? With students on stage, directing the program?
The energy in the room last night was something else!
Nearly 500 guests—tech leaders, media powerbrokers, educators, advocates, and the students who make all of it matter—came together for the Urban Arts 2026 Color Ball. Cocktails, dinner, live music, a packed dance floor, and a shared belief that every young person deserves access to a quality education.
With that recipe, the generous Urban Arts community raised $1.1 Million and counting in just one night, committing to access, equity and a future that works for all of us.
At Urban Arts, we teach digital game design and emerging technologies as a pathway to college and career to students from low-income communities. Our students develop the technical fluency and creative confidence needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving economy.
Thank you to everyone who showed up, bid, danced, and believed. See you next year! Mark your calendars for April 7, 2027.
🙏 BFFs:
@workatparamount@Google
#TakeTwoInteractive
Unity
@Hearst@NBCUniversal@KeyBank@madein_ny@PACOA7
#RadianceWealthManagement
#GeneralAtlantic
@Deloitte
#PaulWeiss
@lifeatahead@Adobe@westand8@AccentureUS@cdw_corp@ltm_ofcl@proskauer_rose
#CenterviewPartners
STAY TUNED!!!!!!!! IT'S COLLEGE DECISION MONTH!!! Here Philip, our CEO, & Joelle, our Director of Post-Secondary Success, share the breadth of our College Access Program. IT'S GIANT 🚛!
100% of Urban Arts seniors matriculate. They've earned $32M in scholarships since only 2017!
They're creating the future of creative tech!
Where are they going....................??? (suspensful music 🎶). Stay tuned for next week's Big Reveal!
#collegeaccess #decisionday #collegebound #freecollegeaccess #freeafterschoolprogram #ScholarshipOpportunity #Scholarship #ComputerScienceDegree #steameducation #STEMEducation
San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle@wsj@forbes@harvard_business_review@bloomberg@chronicleofphilanthropy The Chronicle of Philanthropy @cityandstateny City and State NY
Lights 🔦 Camera 🎥 Summer Camp! Maya Brown from @nbcuacademy stopped by to capture the Urban Arts story. At our free Summer Camp intensive, 100+ students learned coding, @unitytechnologies engine & other digital tools to write, make music & art & create their own games! 10 Alumni #TeachingAssistants, previous students of Urban Arts programming, were hired back to teach this next gen what they know best.
Watch the whole release! https://youtu.be/Udpn1Pq0PFE?si=xY6b0nLAKaXam8y2
Camp is just one piece of our Big Story, where students have earned $25M in scholarships, ensuring college graduation—Tech Without Debt!
We’re so grateful for our partnership with #NBCUniversal who make it possible to share the Urban Arts story, and these great peeps @mayabrownreports
Hilary Smith, Jessica Clancy, Samantha Cammarata, and Kimberly King @bgunlimited for continued support!
@chronicleofhighered #FreeCodingProgram #FreeGameDesign #YieldGiving @melindafrenchgates@gatesfoundation NEA Today Education Week EdSource Race Forward @advancingjustice_aajc@rockefellerfdn@robinhoodnyc@naacp@colorofchange The Education Trust @edwriters TED-Ed @chronicleofhighered@the_education_magazine__ WeAreTeachers
Build a game 🕹️ in 2 weeks! IT’S FREE. Virtual 💻! And nationwide 🗺️!
In partnership with Endless Access, Urban Arts is hosting a free, 2-week virtual game design intensive for HS students this summer. Earn an industry-recognized microcredential from Endless Access X the ASU Endless Games & Learning Lab. Add it to portfolios & college apps. Visit tinyurl.com/storyquestcamp 🔥
In StoryQuest Camp, you will
★ design original game levels,
★ create your own characters,
★ ship a completed project in Godot, and
★ present it in a virtual showcase.
Free. Virtual. Open to students nationwide in grades 9–12.
Two cohorts that both
★ meet online,
★ in three-hour sessions,
★ M, T, W, Th, + F,
★ for two weeks.
APPLY! ➡️ ➡️ ➡️ https://bit.ly/storyquestcamp
NOTE: A parent or guardian must be present as you complete this application to approve your participation.
@endlesscomputers #endlessaccess #StoryQuest #bulidagame #designsprint #gamedesign #characterart @endless_global@endlessstudiosgames@endlesscomputers
Next month, we're launching over 100 new alumni 🎓🎓🎓! We're announcing our grads and our 2026 scholarship haul June 1 🗓. Why should you follow along? Because you're going to meet young people like Mabel—an Urban Arts creative technologist, a Nagler Scholar, an EARLY summa cum laude graduate of Fordham, and a new Salesforce staffer. ⭐️ She's a game changer ⭐️
Urban Arts is the national nonprofit that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career, offering free instruction for students to open doors in STEM and the arts. Urban Arts uses games as education, and the power of play to unlock opportunity.
Their free Game Academy in NYC serves local students year-round.
Urban Arts provides free, robust college-access services, garnering 100% college acceptance and over $46 million in scholarships. Students and alumni are connected to mentorships and networking opportunities at leading media and technology companies, generating a new talent pipeline and a more equitable future.
Read more here: bit.ly/mabel-at-fordham
Fordham University
Take a look at how a gala should go down. That bright energy! That joy! The goodness! This was an unheard of SOLD OUT Spring benefit so save the date for April 7, 2027! See you there!
@jacobbernsteinnyc@smbahr14 A million dollar night, you two! Student led. You’re invited next year!
@thecityny@ny1@news12bx
We’re going to need a bigger billboard! RED CARPET 🚨 BOARD EDITION Thank you so much to this team of dedicated individuals. Each serves on the Urban Arts board because they believe Urban Arts is doing something genuinely special: centering access and opportunity for young people who are too often overlooked, and building an ecosystem that is better for having them in it. Their efforts helped raise over $1.1 Million to build a better future. Special thanks to the Color Ball 2026 Co-Chairs Randi Englebrecht, Taneka Stevenson, Arienne Thompson Plourde. Please meet all of these VIPs at /team/
10 snaps of hotties 🔥 owning the #redcarpet at #colorball2026 **PART 1**
Stuffy? ❌ Joyous? ✅
Urban Arts is the national nonprofit that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career, offering free instruction for students to open doors in #STEM and the arts. Urban Arts uses games as education, and the power of play to unlock opportunity.
Thursday, our annual benefit welcomed hundreds of folks dripping in bright, feel-good #dopaminedressing. Our work is serious and effective, but sometimes we just look high-key amazing 🤩.
Peep some guests in a sea of sequins, neon, stripes, florals, checks, velvets, feathers, animal prints, plaids, metallics, abstracts, gemstones, paisleys—and a pair of $$$ Ben Franklin sandals.
(We were SOLD OUT. Save that date for 2027... April 7!)
#ColorBall #dopaminedressing #OOTD #redcarpet #dressedforsuccess #STEMaccess #techforall #TechEducation
CB26 by the numbers!!! Thank you to our brilliant guests, honorees, performers and talent! WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT??? Pound follow to see the night in action!
#bythenumbers #recordbreaking #nonprofitnyc #springgala
Students! This is what Color Ball 🪩 is really about. The generous Urban Arts community raised $1.1 Million and counting 🏆 in just one night, committing to access, equity and a future that works for all of us. Yet, Color Ball is different—our students run the show.
Meet the 2026 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:
Jannat, Programming Lead at Old Man Studio at Urban Arts and a senior at John Dewey High School;
Kim, Project Manager and Art Lead at Spooky Soiree Studio at Urban Arts and a senior at The High School of Fashion Industries;
Farhan, Narrative Lead at Spooky Soiree Studio at Urban Arts and a senior at Thomas A. Edison Career & Technical Education High School; and
Mely, Game Designer and Narrative at Old Man Studio at Urban Arts and a senior at Curtis High School
These four commanded the Color Ball stage with Philip Courtney, our CEO, surrounded by some of the most influential people in tech and media, and shared their journeys.
At Urban Arts, we teach digital game design and emerging technologies as a pathway to college and career to students from low-income communities. Our students develop the technical fluency and creative confidence needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving economy.
These four—and over 100 other NYC seniors from low-income communities—are now on to higher degrees through our College Access 🎓 program. With 100% college acceptance, and $56 Million in scholarships (so far!) we’re ensuring a new talent pipeline.
Learn what a partnership with Urban Arts can look like. Schedule a visit 📆 to see the work in practice and meet our students. Reach out at [email protected]
#UrbanArts #ColorBall2026 #ColorBall #GameChangers #collegeaccess #NonprofitNYC #SpringGala #STEMAccess #NonprofitPartnerships @pipcourtneynyc
It's TODAY!!! In just a few hours, the 2026 URBAN ARTS COLOR BALL kicks off. #iykyk This party is EPIC 🪩 And this year we're a fundraiser that's SOLD OUT 🔥 That's how you know it's good. Follow along and tag @urbanarts #ColorBall #colorBall2026 for an all-out celebration with some MAJOR SURPRISES 🤩
(There's always next year! STD April 7, 2027)
