A Program for Youth Is Reshaping Arts Education in Chicago

The Live6 area is home to a robust cultural and creative community. And with an increase in development, there's opportunity for artists and institutions to tap into that energy to spur growth.

Arts education programs in the United States are subjected to cutting for maintaining tight school budgets. Technology sectors in Seattle seek professionals who have been trained in problem solving skills and innovative idea generation. In response, Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture collaborate to promote equity in students’ access to the arts.

A group of women are restoring abandoned chinampas (ancient Aztec floating farms) in and around Mexico City, combining indigenous farming techniques with university research partnerships to clean polluted waterways, protect endangered axolotls, revive sustainable year-round agriculture, and train a new generation of farmers in traditional methods.

California nonprofits are stepping up to provide young people with arts education opportunities in light of the lack of arts funding and programming at schools. In Seaside, the multicultural organization Palenke Arts offers classes in a variety of dance, visual arts, and a Spanish book club that are accessible to many ages.

A workforce development program in Washington D.C. gives locals the opportunity to intern at energy companies for on-the-job training four days a week and attend class-style training one day a week. Participants earn a living wage and graduate with the skills necessary for a full-time position in the sustainability sector.

The owner of Edwins Leadership & Restaurant Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, employs formerly incarcerated adults and teaches them the skills they need to work in the culinary industry. Less than 1% of the institute’s trainees are re-incarcerated after graduation.

Local art organizations seek to provide safe and affordable space for Oakland’s artists to live and work. The Community Arts Stabilization Trust uses creative financing to purchase a building and stabilize the rent, usually below market value. Buildings are then rented only to arts and culturally focused organizations for use. O2 Artisans Aggregate is a small-business incubator with warehouses and shipping containers that are used as fabrication studios, test kitchens, and maker spaces.

An art program works with young men and teens who aren’t in school, takes them off the street, and gives them the skills to make different mediums of art, which are sold in the community. The teens and young men are given part of the proceeds and many have used the skills they learned to open up their own workshops.

Code/Art trains art teachers in a curriculum that combines art and coding, with the goal of inspiring girls to code. They also offer weekly clubs for elementary and middle school girls, a Future Female Tech Leaders program for high schoolers, and an annual conference to celebrate the girls’ achievements. Teachers who take the training can satisfy continuing education requirements by learning four lessons: an abstract art generator and donut maker game, coding self-portraits using JavaScript, and 3-D modeling. Facilitators are assisted by college-age interns, who are available to help in the classroom.

The city of York trained volunteers to help identify causes and solutions to loneliness and social isolation, an issue with public health consequences. Volunteers conducted research and spoke to 1,000 fellow residents and 100 other stakeholders to identify community knowledge and priorities. Working closely with local partners, volunteers helped design and implement solutions, including pairing young runners with isolated older citizens to serve as coaches and provide motivation. Participants reported positive outcomes, like feeling less lonely and experiencing improved well-being.