Brenda McCullers
March 10, 2014
Art in Alternative Settings
One might ask what does Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Gallery 37, Via Colori, and the Harlem Horizon Art Studio, have in common. All are art education programs in alternative settings. In other words, they all teach art outside of the traditional K-12 school setting. More important, the above programs all offer ways in which art can be used to help build and improve the community. The following describes the above-mentioned programs.
For over forty years, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG), has impacted Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Green and Kindseth (2011) explain that MCG is a “nationally recognized model for Out-of-School Time (OST) learning through the visual arts” (p. 337-341). This is because MCG provides “a bridge between the streets of the inner-city and higher aspirations” (Charland 2005). They not only teach the students art, they also focus on vocational training, life and career skills, and entrepreneurial ambitions. Periodic family nights are held to exhibit the student’s work and bring in the community. This program “transforms students’ sense of self, as well as nurtures a passion for learning through creative thinking and practice" (Green 2011). As a result, the organization “boosts a college placement rate of over 70% and serves over 350 apprentices annually in its facilities, and over a thousand more young people through the community schools” (Charland (2005). MCG is literally taking kids off the streets of Pittsburg and preparing them to be upstanding members of their community.
Gallery 37, is a similar program that is located in Chicago. The Gallery trains teenagers through a youth arts apprenticeship program that runs year round. Classes and summer camps are offered in a downtown facility, in the Chicago Public Schools, and in neighborhood parks. The program draws participants from fourteen years of age to seventeen. As William Charland (2005) explains, this arts apprentice program “clarifies a connection for the young artists to the professional world and teaches professional conduct to its participants” (p. 46). The program “emphasizes career-training workshops where job skills are applied to the production artworks and the running of the gallery” (p. 44). “Their success is such that they have provided the template for reproduction to a great number of similar projects in other cities across the country” (p. 44).
Harlem Horizon Art Studio is also an art program in an alternative setting, but unlike the above, it works with patients and outpatients. It has been in existence for over twenty years and is located at the Harlem Hospital Center. The studio is open to patients who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and an assortment of traumatic injuries as well as members of the community (Wexler 2002). The studio does not provide structured lessons but encourages participants to express themselves by making art. “Children are not told what or how to paint so that they will seek their own solutions” (p. 343). Consequently, the program builds decision-making, choice, and instills confidence within the students. The Studio also provides an opportunity for these children to interact with the community at large through exhibitions of their work (p. 343).
Via Colori is a street painting festival hosted by nonprofit organizations across the country that brings beauty to the streets and strengthens the area. Sheng Chung (2011), explains that Via Colori unites artists, volunteers, and business sponsors from a local community to raise funds for helping people in need” and “serves as a catalyst for art educators to engage students in projects of possibility beyond the school walls” (p. 46-52). Students are provided an opportunity to work “directly and collaboratively with members of the community to solve community problems” (p. 46-52). The festival “instills a sense of social awareness in students of any level, planting the seed for their active involvement within their own communities in the future” and reinforces the importance of a community working together toward a common goal (p. 46-52). This festival is the largest of its kind and helps form relationships between the art community and the public.
What makes these particular programs effective? Robin Wright (2007) explains that properly designed and implemented after-school community-based art programs have numerous benefits for the community. They “engage and educate the neighborhood” (p. 124). They build “individual and community assets and strengths” (p. 126). With regard to the educational system, they “improve academic behavior, reduced delinquency rates, and increase extracurricular activities” (p. 129) and they “have an impact on the psychosocial functioning of children and youth” (p. 130). These programs meet Wright’s criteria for creating a successful program to benefit the community because they focus on local ownership as a key component. As a result, they have been in place for years and are continuing to thrive.
There are authors like Lilly Lu (2010) who write about implementing art education in alternative settings through the use of “three-dimensional (3D) virtual world (VW) technology”. While this can be a great teaching strategy to reach students and enhance learning, it is building a virtual community rather than impacting and contributing to the development of art within the physical community. There are other ways that technology can be used to build and improve the community with art. For example, to raise money for the local “Save the Indian River Lagoon” campaign in Stuart, Florida, artist Kellie Ivey created bracelets with the marine coordinates for the Indian River Lagoon. She promoted sells through Face Book and Instagram (https://www.facebook.com/LatandLo). A large percentage of her profit was donated to the cause. Projects like this and the programs described earlier help promote and educate the public on the importance of art and help build and improve our communities.
References
Charland, W. (2005). The youth arts apprentice movement: A new twist on an historical practice. Art Education, 58(5), 39-47.
Chung, S. and Ortiz, C. (2011). Art education in action on the street. Art Education, 64(3), 46-52.
Gallery 37. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_s_publicartgallery37.html.
Green, J., & Kindseth, A. (2011). Art all day: Distinction and interrelation of school-based and out-of-school arts learning. Studies in Art Education, 52(4), 337-341.
HHC Art. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.nychhcart.org/index.html#.
Ivey, Kellie. (2014). Personal interview. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/LatandLo.
Kim, J. G., Kirchhoff, M. & Whitsett, S. (2011). Expressive arts group therapy with middle-school aged children from military families. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(5), 356-362.
Lu, L. (2010). Teaching 21st-Century Art Education in a “Virtual” Age: Art Café at Second Life. Art Education, 63(6), 19-24.
Manchester Craftsman”s Guild (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://mcgyouthandarts.org.
Via Colori. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.viacolori.com.
Wexler, Alice. (2002). “Painting their way out: profiles of adolescent art practice at the Harlem Hospital Horizon Art Studio.” Studies in Art Education, 43(4), 339-353.
Wright, R. (2007). A Conceptual and Methodological Framework for Designing and Evaluating Community-Based After-School Art Programs. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13(1), 123-131.
March 10, 2014
Art in Alternative Settings
One might ask what does Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Gallery 37, Via Colori, and the Harlem Horizon Art Studio, have in common. All are art education programs in alternative settings. In other words, they all teach art outside of the traditional K-12 school setting. More important, the above programs all offer ways in which art can be used to help build and improve the community. The following describes the above-mentioned programs.
For over forty years, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG), has impacted Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Green and Kindseth (2011) explain that MCG is a “nationally recognized model for Out-of-School Time (OST) learning through the visual arts” (p. 337-341). This is because MCG provides “a bridge between the streets of the inner-city and higher aspirations” (Charland 2005). They not only teach the students art, they also focus on vocational training, life and career skills, and entrepreneurial ambitions. Periodic family nights are held to exhibit the student’s work and bring in the community. This program “transforms students’ sense of self, as well as nurtures a passion for learning through creative thinking and practice" (Green 2011). As a result, the organization “boosts a college placement rate of over 70% and serves over 350 apprentices annually in its facilities, and over a thousand more young people through the community schools” (Charland (2005). MCG is literally taking kids off the streets of Pittsburg and preparing them to be upstanding members of their community.
Gallery 37, is a similar program that is located in Chicago. The Gallery trains teenagers through a youth arts apprenticeship program that runs year round. Classes and summer camps are offered in a downtown facility, in the Chicago Public Schools, and in neighborhood parks. The program draws participants from fourteen years of age to seventeen. As William Charland (2005) explains, this arts apprentice program “clarifies a connection for the young artists to the professional world and teaches professional conduct to its participants” (p. 46). The program “emphasizes career-training workshops where job skills are applied to the production artworks and the running of the gallery” (p. 44). “Their success is such that they have provided the template for reproduction to a great number of similar projects in other cities across the country” (p. 44).
Harlem Horizon Art Studio is also an art program in an alternative setting, but unlike the above, it works with patients and outpatients. It has been in existence for over twenty years and is located at the Harlem Hospital Center. The studio is open to patients who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, paraplegia, quadriplegia, and an assortment of traumatic injuries as well as members of the community (Wexler 2002). The studio does not provide structured lessons but encourages participants to express themselves by making art. “Children are not told what or how to paint so that they will seek their own solutions” (p. 343). Consequently, the program builds decision-making, choice, and instills confidence within the students. The Studio also provides an opportunity for these children to interact with the community at large through exhibitions of their work (p. 343).
Via Colori is a street painting festival hosted by nonprofit organizations across the country that brings beauty to the streets and strengthens the area. Sheng Chung (2011), explains that Via Colori unites artists, volunteers, and business sponsors from a local community to raise funds for helping people in need” and “serves as a catalyst for art educators to engage students in projects of possibility beyond the school walls” (p. 46-52). Students are provided an opportunity to work “directly and collaboratively with members of the community to solve community problems” (p. 46-52). The festival “instills a sense of social awareness in students of any level, planting the seed for their active involvement within their own communities in the future” and reinforces the importance of a community working together toward a common goal (p. 46-52). This festival is the largest of its kind and helps form relationships between the art community and the public.
What makes these particular programs effective? Robin Wright (2007) explains that properly designed and implemented after-school community-based art programs have numerous benefits for the community. They “engage and educate the neighborhood” (p. 124). They build “individual and community assets and strengths” (p. 126). With regard to the educational system, they “improve academic behavior, reduced delinquency rates, and increase extracurricular activities” (p. 129) and they “have an impact on the psychosocial functioning of children and youth” (p. 130). These programs meet Wright’s criteria for creating a successful program to benefit the community because they focus on local ownership as a key component. As a result, they have been in place for years and are continuing to thrive.
There are authors like Lilly Lu (2010) who write about implementing art education in alternative settings through the use of “three-dimensional (3D) virtual world (VW) technology”. While this can be a great teaching strategy to reach students and enhance learning, it is building a virtual community rather than impacting and contributing to the development of art within the physical community. There are other ways that technology can be used to build and improve the community with art. For example, to raise money for the local “Save the Indian River Lagoon” campaign in Stuart, Florida, artist Kellie Ivey created bracelets with the marine coordinates for the Indian River Lagoon. She promoted sells through Face Book and Instagram (https://www.facebook.com/LatandLo). A large percentage of her profit was donated to the cause. Projects like this and the programs described earlier help promote and educate the public on the importance of art and help build and improve our communities.
References
Charland, W. (2005). The youth arts apprentice movement: A new twist on an historical practice. Art Education, 58(5), 39-47.
Chung, S. and Ortiz, C. (2011). Art education in action on the street. Art Education, 64(3), 46-52.
Gallery 37. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_s_publicartgallery37.html.
Green, J., & Kindseth, A. (2011). Art all day: Distinction and interrelation of school-based and out-of-school arts learning. Studies in Art Education, 52(4), 337-341.
HHC Art. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.nychhcart.org/index.html#.
Ivey, Kellie. (2014). Personal interview. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from https://www.facebook.com/LatandLo.
Kim, J. G., Kirchhoff, M. & Whitsett, S. (2011). Expressive arts group therapy with middle-school aged children from military families. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(5), 356-362.
Lu, L. (2010). Teaching 21st-Century Art Education in a “Virtual” Age: Art Café at Second Life. Art Education, 63(6), 19-24.
Manchester Craftsman”s Guild (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://mcgyouthandarts.org.
Via Colori. (2014). Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.viacolori.com.
Wexler, Alice. (2002). “Painting their way out: profiles of adolescent art practice at the Harlem Hospital Horizon Art Studio.” Studies in Art Education, 43(4), 339-353.
Wright, R. (2007). A Conceptual and Methodological Framework for Designing and Evaluating Community-Based After-School Art Programs. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 13(1), 123-131.
