Every Child is an Artist
Arts Alive! program participants Joellen McKenzie and Bradley McKenzie
check out the areas they worked on for the 2010 Camp Endeavor diabetes educational mural.
The mural is currently on display at Robinson Memorial Hospital and will soon leave
to travel the country as part of a national campaign for diabetes awareness.
ablo Picasso said,
“every child is an artist.” The staff at Arts Alive! wholeheartedly believes that and it shows. Founded in 2007, Arts Alive! operates under the Youth Development Program of Family & Community Services, Inc. Arts Alive! began as a small pilot program for at-risk teens and operated out of the North Water Street Gallery in downtown Kent. At that time, 10 Portage County teens participated. After receiving a grant at the state level, the program was able to expand to serve Portage County students ages 5-21 and operated out of the King-Kennedy Community Center and Skeels-Mathews Community Center (both in Ravenna), and provided programming in Windham, and as part of the curriculum at an alternative school in Kent. Currently, the Arts Alive! program operates out of the newly renovated Dietrich Youth Center located on the R.O.C. campus of Family & Community Services at 705 Oakwood St. in Ravenna. To date, over 350 youth have been served by the Arts Alive! program.
The mission of this arts program is to provide Portage County youth access to free activities in the visual, literary and performing arts and offer these activities in a safe and positive learning environment promoting artistic experimentation, collaboration, and innovation. The curriculum is offered year-round both as an after-school program and during the summer. In this way, the program provides a positive outlet for youth during times when they are most likely to engage in at-risk behaviors. Any interested school-aged Portage County youth is welcome to attend. Classes are structured like a workshop. For example, a local artist with a discipline in print- making may visit to demonstrate a set of skills such as silkscreening an original design onto a shirt. Program participants then apply these newly-acquired skills to create their own work of art. Structured activities, peer-to-peer mentoring, and a 1:3 teaching ratio further encourages freedom of imagination, healthy and creative expression, and, ultimately, increased awareness and self-esteem.
Youth reach, reach, reach for their toes during a yoga workshop.
Arts Alive! program participants can expect to work in a variety of mediums including print- making, clay, metals, drawing, painting, photography, upcycling, gardening, theatre, poetry, yoga and meditation, to name a few. The occasional field trip may also be incorporated into learning. Past field trips have included The Karamu House, a therapeutic horse farm, Kent State University, Hiram College, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Akron Art Museum and The Cleveland International Film Festival, to name a few. Community service-learning projects are also an important component of the Arts Alive! program. Students are expected to “give back” to their communities through a variety of projects including public murals, art exhibits and performances, educational displays and children’s activities at local events, and, most recently, the Community Garden Project which gets organic, locally-grown produce to those in need.
To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits:
logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken,
it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams. ~ Giorgio de Chirico
If you are interested in having your child attended the Arts Alive! program,
contact Youth Arts Coordinator Laura (Barrett) Wynn at 330.297.6667 x325
If you are interested in volunteering your time time or talent or have a donation, you may also call or visit us on facebook or on our website.
