Art is one powerful tool that students can use to process thoughts and feelings. It’s also a skill set that can open up a range of opportunities for them. For this year’s summer YouthWork program, we partnered with The Creatives Project (TCP) to guide our students in accessing their inner creatives.
Each week, TCP sent one of their ART-FORCE Resident Artists—which included Sophia Mackey, Joseph Veazey, Adana Tillman, Keturah Benson, and Xavier Lewis—to help our students explore their creativity while learning the ins and outs of the creative economy.
“What a natural collaboration,” said Jennifer Long, Executive Director at TCP. “It was beautiful to witness the lightbulb moments, the learning, the connections, and the ways that art can therapeutically transform perspective.”
Our students learned about graphic design concepts, how to create self-portraits, as well as the basics of printmaking, where they created prints using paint and stamps.
In one session, they were challenged to imagine their future selves and to create images using different materials.
About half of the work we do here at RE involves meeting students where they’re at—providing academic, professional, and emotional support. The other half is about stimulating their imaginations. When you elevate students’ expectations, it opens up entire worlds of possibility.
We are proud to partner with organizations like TCP that teach students how to engage with possibility and use it to create objects that are unique to themselves. It’s a skill that begins with art, but extends to everything they do.
To learn more about The Creatives Project, we invite you to visit their website here.
