Urban Arts

Urban Arts We teach digital game design 👾 and emerging technologies as a pathway to college 🎓 and career. We have 100% college acceptance and $71 Million in scholarships.

We design and implement educational programs rooted in the arts and technology for underrepresented students. We teach underrepresented students the art and technology of game development through computer science, coding, animation, music, and storytelling. We provide private-school level college-access services and ensure our students earn the maximum in scholarships. We connect our alumni to men

torship and internship opportunities at leading media and technology companies, generating a new and diverse talent pipeline. Because a quality education shouldn’t depend on a child’s zip code.

09/03/2026

FRANKIE! Tell us about this cool game you made at the Summer intensive? Games within games? Clues? A cemetery and a missing dog?

What's *YOUR* idea for a cool video game? What's the mission? What do the characters looks like? What does it sound like?

Build it at the Urban Arts Game Academy. You'll learn:
â—Ź coding in C #
â—Ź to bring characters to life through animation & pixel art
â—Ź to compose interactive soundscapes
â—Ź to craft compelling narratives
â—Ź to unlock careers across STEM & creative fields

No experience needed! PLUS FREE COLLEGE ACCESS! Urban Arts G*e Acdemy seniors have earned $71 Million in scholarships.

Every accepted student has their entire tuition covered! All instruction, equipment, snacks and travel included.

Check out our classes. Registration is open now!
urbanarts.org/gameacademy/

Pathways in Technology Early College High School Frederick Douglass Academy VIII

09/02/2026

Jainab! Tell us about your team's game and your 2D Game design experience at the Urban Arts ! Bob the *scientist* 🧬?! And killer robots 🤖! PLUS, FRIENDZZZZZ!

All tuition-free (🆓) Game Academy classes start this October! Learn more, create your own vision, and meet fun friends.

Register at the https://urbanarts.org/gameacademy/

09/01/2026

SAHARA, tell us about your 2D Game from Summer Intensive! ( 👀 check out these 🌸🌼🌺 and 🪲!)

What's *YOUR* idea for a cool video game? What's the mission? What do the characters looks like? What does it sound like?

Build it at the Urban Arts Game Academy. Every accepted student has their entire tuition covered! All instruction, equipment, snacks and travel included. Plus, a free pass to the College access program with $70+M in scholarships.

Check out our classes. Reigstration is open now!
https://urbanarts.org/gameacademy/

09/01/2026

THE GAME THAT STARTED IT ALL—ATARI'S PONG! 1972!

Pong, created by Al Alcorn, was the first commercially successful video game, helping to establish the entire video game industry. We were obsessed! And he's talking with us!

We're talking everything game design, the games industry, invention, the tech industry, careers in STEM and how to get there with:

• Al Alcorn, creator, OG engineer
• Jeri Ellsworth, CEO and co-founder of , Brainiac
• Giselle and Dylan, Urban Arts Game Academy alum, game creators, and the future of tech.

📆September 10 | 7 PM ET
🎫: Free and open to all

REGISTER: https://bit.ly/PongTiltFive

Join us for this virtual conversation. Got a question about how to make it? Submit here!

08/27/2026

Check out these VERY COOL games our 2D students made this summer. 🌟 WHAT WILL YOU MAKE AT THE GAME ACADEMY 🌟?!

10th and 11th graders! Apply for the Urban Arts , the afterschool program that offers and college prep. It’s also highly rated for meeting friends in real life. Every accepted students goes tuition-free—instruction, equipment, snacks, travel included.

It’s FREE! No experience needed!

How do I apply? Attend an info session. Apply. Enroll. Easy!
www.UrbanArts.org/GameAcademy

What’s this program? Play. Design. Create. Learn tech skills through making playable games and build a portfolio that opens doors to top colleges.

Learn
â—Ź coding in C #
â—Ź to bring characters to life through animation & pixel art
â—Ź to compose interactive soundscapes
â—Ź to craft compelling narratives
â—Ź to unlock careers across STEM & creative fields

When is it? After school October through mid-June. Virtual or in-person. There’s also cool pop-ups, labs & field trips.

100% College Acceptance! Our seniors have earned $71 Million in scholarships!

Questions? Ask us anything [email protected]
www.UrbanArts.org/GameAcademy

08/26/2026

Urban Arts is recruiting for our competitive Fall program. Every admitted students attends FREE—all instruction, equipment, snacks, and transport included. we are an effective STEM program, highly rated for making friends IRL. We teach high schoolers to make their own video games, imparting critical tech skills in a super-fun environment. Our comprehensive College Access program is included, with 100% college acceptance rate and $71M in scholarships so far. It's novel, engaging, and accessible.


New York State PTA .cte

HURRY! Sign up your 9th, 10th and 11th graders for the FREE Game Academy, the FREE afterschool program that offers video...
08/24/2026

HURRY! Sign up your 9th, 10th and 11th graders for the FREE Game Academy, the FREE afterschool program that offers video game design and college prep. It’s also highly rated for meeting friends in real life.

This highly competitive program fills up FAST! It’s FREE! No experience needed!

How do I apply? Attend an info session. Apply. Enroll. Easy! www.UrbanArts.org/GameAcademy
What’s this program? Play. Design. Create. Learn tech skills through making playable games and build a portfolio that opens doors to top colleges.

Learn
â—Ź coding in C #
â—Ź to bring characters to life through animation & pixel art
â—Ź to compose interactive soundscapes
â—Ź to craft compelling narratives
â—Ź to unlock careers across STEM & creative fields

When is it? After school October through mid-June. Virtual or in-person. There’s also cool pop-ups, labs & field trips.

100% College Acceptance! Our seniors have earned $71 Million in scholarships!

Questions? Ask us anything [email protected]
www.UrbanArts.org/GameAcademy

FREE webinar “From and to Today’s Generation of Game Creators 👾” Meet Al Alcorn, the Atari engineer who created the ...
08/24/2026

FREE webinar “From and to Today’s Generation of Game Creators 👾” Meet Al Alcorn, the Atari engineer who created the OG video game PONG, and Jeri Ellsworth, CEO and co-founder of , brainiacs. Plus, Urban Arts newest game creators. This conversation, hosted by Philip Courtney, CEO of Urban Arts, brings together generations of game creators to discuss and the industry, then and now.

📆 September 10, 2026, 7:00 PM Eastern. FREE
Submit a question âť“ to Al, Jeri, Philip!
Register here: https://bit.ly/PongTiltFive

What can students learn by creating video games, and how does open doors to careers in computer science, engineering, art, design, and creative technology? FIND OUT!

For educators, the webinar provides a look at how game design can engage students in CS while connecting classroom learning to real-world careers. For young people, it offers a chance to hear how one of the earliest commercial video games was created, see projects from Urban Arts alumni, and learn what it takes to turn an idea into something people can play.

For one high-energy August afternoon, Urban Arts in NYC turns into an arcade 🕹️, built entirely by our students.After ...
08/20/2026

For one high-energy August afternoon, Urban Arts in NYC turns into an arcade 🕹️, built entirely by our students.

After 6 weeks of collaborating across every role in a game studio— , art, , sound production, coding, and —our Summer 2D Intensive students demoed original video games with their own art and narrative. They iterated, playtested, incorporated feedback from mentors and peers, and made their ideas better because of it.

They got to show off work to friends, family, and special guests including Alia Jones-Harvey, Associate Commissioner for Workforce Development & Educational Initiatives at the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment . A longterm supporter of the city's students, Alia partnered with Urban Arts, & to launch NYC's initiative with the goal to build pipelines from high school to college to the growing local gaming industry.

Summer Arcade is the showcase of our summer game design pathway. 82 students participated in our free, daily 2D Game Development initiative, launching over 100 new games! When our students publish work like this, they’re learning to be technically expert, creatively confident youth who can envision a future they direct.

Want to help us scale a pathway that benefits your industry? We're looking for partners who want to support a new talent pipeline. [email protected]

At Urban Arts, we've spent over two decades proving that students from low-income communities don't just belong in tech,...
08/19/2026

At Urban Arts, we've spent over two decades proving that students from low-income communities don't just belong in tech, they lead it.

Now we're going further.

This summer, we piloted , an AI-first startup crafted for technically skilled high school seniors who are ready to build.

In just 10 days, students form five startup teams go from idea to a live, investor-ready pitch using AI tools at every stage, from ideation to iteration. We host daily sprints with expert speakers, hands-on workshops, and real product-building. By Demo Day, every team pitches a working product in front of real stakeholders.

This is not summer camp. These students are taught by industry leaders to direct AI as builders, not consume it as end users. It's a crash course in the mindset, tools, and grit that entrepreneurial success demands and our students are more than ready for it.

Urban Arts helps young people prove what's possible. Ensure access to the future of work, the future of business and the entrepreneurial mindset through Founders Lab. For more information or to partner, contact [email protected]

Get impressed.

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Address

39 West 19th Street
New York, NY
10011

Telephone

(212) 966-5881

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