Subliminal Panda: an entrepreneurial approach to funding the arts

SALT LAKE CITY - Feb. 8, 2016 - PRLog -- A unique new Utah clothing brand and crowdfunding campaign, Subliminal Panda, aims to give low-income schools a boost to their often under-funded art programs. The company has pledged an ongoing 20% of proceeds to buy art supplies and fund art and music education in under-served schools.

Research has repeatedly proven the positive impact art and music programs have on graduation rates and overall academic achievement. A report by Americans for the Arts comparing dropout rates of students showed an overall dropout rate of 7% in America, in contrast with a 22% dropout rate for kids with low arts involvement and low socioeconomic status. However, among students with low socioeconomic status and high arts involvement, the dropout rate dips to 4%, a figure significantly below the national average.

Unfortunately, according to the U.S. Department of Education, over 40% of low-income schools receiving federal Title I money do not receive a fair share of local and state funding. Further complicating this problem, 66% of all 3rd to 12th grade school teachers express their belief that schools are shifting educational time and resources to math and language and away from arts, music, foreign language and social studies, according to a 2011 national survey conducted by Common Core and the FarkasDuffett Research Group.

To counterbalance this shift, many schools are turning to nonprofit organizations and community members to fund their art programs. Some communities tend to succeed in this effort due to readily accessible donors; but many other areas often find little or no extra funding for art education available in their communities. Subliminal Panda Apparel aims to help rectify this disparity by devoting a portion of proceeds from each item sold to art programs and purchasing art supplies for students in carefully chosen schools in low-income areas.

“Art changed my life, it made me who I am today,” says Tristan Mouritsen, founder of Subliminal Panda. “I struggled a lot with self-esteem as a kid, but art gave me a purpose and allowed me to feel like I had a voice. Subliminal Panda was founded on the idea that art can do the same for anyone, given the proper resources.”

Subliminal Panda’s Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign recently went live, showcasing dozens of otherworldly designs, as well as describing their use of exclusively organic, fair trade clothing wholesalers for their unique streetwear.  The Kickstarter will be live until February 28, 2016.

For additional information regarding Subliminal Panda’s goals, visit:

http://kck.st/1SQvRQx

or www.subpandathreads.com.

Email Subliminal Panda’s founder, Tristan Mouritsen: tristanmouritsen@rocketmail.com with follow-up