Each year, Design for Sharing (DFS) brings thousands of young people from Los Angeles-area public schools to CAP UCLA venues for free performances and interactive and educational arts activities during the school day. DFS programs are often a highlight of these students’ school experience, welcoming them into the joy of live performance — and providing a glimpse of university life on the UCLA campus.
Through DFS’s annual series of performances and in-school residencies, students encounter extraordinary professional artists from around the world, as well as brilliant creators and educators working in our local communities. As a program of CAP UCLA, DFS facilitates creative exchange, shared celebration and mutual discovery, empowering students, artists and educators to learn from each other — and about themselves — in meaningful ways.
DFS events are open to any public school in greater Los Angeles and are always free to attend.
Since our founding in 1969, we have welcomed more than half a million students from hundreds of schools to DFS programs. We invite you to join us!
2026-27 DFS Event RSVPs open on Aug 3
Design for Sharing Programs
At UCLA
Design for Sharing has been welcoming public school students to UCLA for educational arts experiences for more than 50 years.
We know young people are empowered and inspired by connecting with artists and having an opportunity to experience creative work. We also know that visiting a university campus offers new perspectives on the world around them and their own personal goals.
DFS School Matinee performances invite K-12 students to discover diverse art forms with professional artists. Held in a variety of CAP UCLA venues, these hour-long programs include discussions with the artists, giving students a glimpse into the creative process. Educational materials are provided to participating teachers in advance, including information about the artists involved, the art form or genre and discussion or activity guides to help contextualize and illuminate personal connections to the performance.
In schools
Design for Sharing connects students to the arts, and to their own creative voices, right in their classrooms. From long-standing school partnerships to easy-to-access online resources, our in-school programs reach young people where they are.
Since 2009, Design for Sharing has collaborated with select partner schools to provide long-term arts programming for hundreds of fourth, fifth and sixth grade students. Residencies are developed in collaboration with classroom teachers centered around a unifying theme; and frequently linked to a DFS School Matinee performance. Students gain an opportunity to expand their knowledge of classroom curriculum through the lens of the performing, literary, and visual arts, while exercising their own creativity.
Periodically, Design for Sharing also offers short-term or project-based residencies with DFS teaching artists. These compact programs usually include a visit to UCLA to see an artist in action and related hands-on activities in the classroom before or after the performance. If you are interested in an in-class experience, please contact us for more information at dfs@cap.ucla.edu
DFS maintains an online library of materials, videos, activities and links that educators can access and use in their classrooms anytime.
Support DFS
Design for Sharing has always been made possible by the generosity of our supporters. When you donate to DFS, you support all aspects of our programming and become part of our 6-decade legacy of sharing the arts with L.A.’s kids.
Donate to DFS today, and give the gift of art to Los Angeles public schools.
Buy a bus!
The Perloff Memorial Bus Fund supports student transportation to DFS programs. For many schools, the cost of a field trip bus puts even free programs out of reach. DFS subsidizes dozens of buses each year, bringing thousands of students to UCLA venues. Your gift helps us give kids a lift.
To contact DFS, email dfs@cap.ucla.edu or call 310-825-7681.