Code/Art is a Miami-based nonprofit on a mission to increase the number of girls in computer science by delighting and inspiring them with the creative possibilities of computer programming. Art is the secret sauce that enables Code/Art to meet girls where they are at with in-demand tech skills – fueling a more inclusive South Florida tech ecosystem.
USING ART TO INSPIRE GIRLS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
Our Story
When Code/Art founder Amy Austin Renshaw learned that the percentage of girls in computer science was less for her daughter’s generation than it had been for hers, she was compelled to reverse that. An engineer by training, she started a girls coding club at her local library. She saw what a positive impact the club was having on the girls, and dreamed bigger–envisioning a world where all girls have a positive early introduction to coding. Out of that was born Code/Art.
Through its art-based coding projects, Code/Art meets girls where they are at – showing them how creative and fun coding can be while literally bringing coding to where they are at by training elementary and middle school art teachers to lead Code/Art lessons in their classrooms. In this way, thousands of girls (and boys) across South Florida have gotten an introduction to coding in art class!
Code/Art’s work is rooted in its four core values:
- Innovation
- Inclusivity
- Community-building
- Social good
Through this lens, Code/Art provides welcoming early coding programs for girls in grades 3-12 that nurture the development of their technical and entrepreneurial skills and empower them to see themselves as coders and creators. By providing quality after-school and in-school coding programs, Code/Art is increasing equity and access for girls in computer science and empowering the untapped potential of women to fill the current unmet demand in computing fields and meet the challenges of our time.
Our Work
Code/Art offers five (5) signature programs to provide pathways in computer science for girls:
Code/Art Clubs (3rd-8th grade): Immersive coding programs where girls learn web development, mobile apps, 3D modeling, game design, AI, and generative art in a welcoming community through weekly clubs, summer camps, and stand-alone workshops that employ a near-peer learning model where Code/Art alumnae return to teach and gain real-life work experience.
Future Tech LeadHERs (9th-12th grade): After-school clubs where high school girls work in teams to develop an app, video game, website, or AI project for good in their community, and learn about careers in tech through career talks, field trips, team coding competitions, and mentorship that prepare Code/Art students to pursue careers and educational pathways rooted in computer science.
All-Girl Coding Competitions (3rd-12th grade): National and regional coding competitions that engage girls in computer science.
TeachHER (K-12 teachers): Award-winning program that trains K-12 teachers to lead Code/Art lessons in their classrooms; designed so that art teachers and other non-technical teachers are able to bring coding to students outside of the computer science classroom.
Code/Art Fest (K-12 students, teachers, parents, and community members): Annual coding conference to inspire and celebrate young female coders; the festival includes coding workshops, STEAM expo, creative coding art exhibition, keynotes, pitch competition, awards ceremony, and more!
Our Impact
Through its footprint across South Florida’s Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties, Code/Art has reached over 8,000 girls at more than 400 schools through lessons taught by 500+ Code/Art-trained teachers, with nearly 2,000 girls impacted to date through participation in after-school Code/Art clubs and workshops. The generosity and continued support from our local and national donors, sponsors, and partners has made it possible for Code/Art to strengthen its ties within the local community and take meaningful strides in helping to close the gender gap in equitable access to academic and economic mobility within the realm of computer science.
Want to learn more about Code/Art? Check us out!
