CityArts Creative Urban Arts and Youth Program

This summer, over 155 CityArts youth joined our Community Youth Arts Program for a total of four weeks of creative learning.  From Mondays through Fridays, youth had an incredible amount of time to explore their creative side, while making new friends and honing their critical thinking skills.  The time spent in our studios with our enthusiastic teaching artists gave them greater attention to their social emotional needs, as well to their creative growth and development.  Youth produced art within an environment that supported whole-child development through creativity, expression, exploration of identity, and critical thinking. 

With attention to STEAM and design-thinking, our summer campers spent lots of hands-on time in project-based learning to explore a variety of ideas and concepts.  As example, in a class called Clubhouses of the Future, students engaged in a project that was fun and exciting (building a clubhouse), while challenging them to think much deeper about their design, process and outcome. It was a perfect example of how design thinking can really elevate youth arts education.        

At the end of each session every class from Exoskeletons, Soundscapes and Animation, Clay Murals, Clubhouses, Hybrid Creatures, and Open Studio, youth spoke about their work in front of a large crowd, bringing the presentation phase of the design thinking process to an important climactic capstone. The students felt so proud and accomplished after their presentations. One student, Joseph, who has special needs, used the microphone for the first time, describing to the large crowd his creative process and role in his group’s animation. After he spoke he turned to his teacher and said, “I was so brave! I was really nervous, but I did it and I was brave.”

Here is a window into our summer classes:

Soundscape and Animation (ages 11-14) with Maya and Maddy: Students in this course were introduced to the process of stop motion animation, developing skills in narrative storytelling, sculpture, drawing, learning how to use digital cameras, tripods, audio recorders and iMovie. Unlike many stop motion classes at CityArts students were responsible for sourcing and creating all of their own sounds using audio recorders. This added an additional creative element to the final pieces that made them particularly unique and expressive. Students were able to use the mixture of visual and audio elements to protray humor, tenderness, fear and anxiety and more.

Club Houses of the Future (ages 8-10) with Andrew and Melvin: Students in this course were given the design challenge of coming up with a concept for a futuristic home that could survive in an extreme environment (such as outer space or underwater), and then creating a life size 'club house' version of that design using cardboard and recycled matierals. The young artists had to use their critical, collaborative, creative and problem solving skills to come up with a functional design that addressed the needs of their environment while also looking beautiful and fitting up to three people inside. They looked at inspiring architecture, learned about construction techniques through a series of fun mini challenged and then began to build, evolving and editing as they went. This course was so successful because it engaged students in a project that was fun and exciting (building a clubhouse), while challenging them to think much deeper about their design, process and outcome. It was a perfect example of how design thinking can really elevate youth arts education.

Clay Mural Project (ages 8-14) with Mika, Peter and Munir: The young artists who selected this course were able to take part in the creation of our Southside Circle of Hope, Opportunity and Renewal project. Students worked with Munir Mohammad to learn about the mural project, and about his paintingprocess. They also created imagery and text which was then used the following week to create large ceramic tiles with Mika Seeger and Peter Gieser. The tiles they created were based on a number of themes, including family, Rhode Island, and food. Students were able to tell their stories of living in Providence and the Southside through clay.

Hybrid Creatures (ages 8-10) with Savannah and Shelby: The young artists in this class were challenged to create a unique hybrid creature, by mixing the features of at least two existing animals into a brand new mythological beast. Students began by researching the physical characteristics and behaviors of lesser known animals. They researched using books, magazines, presentations and online resources as well. Next they planned and designed on paper, using creative thinking and problem solving to not only develop an animal that improved upon nature, but also thinking about where that animal would live, what it would eat, who its predators would be and more. And finally the began to sculpt using wire, cardboard and papier mache, problem solving and collaborating as they evolved their final pieces. As a final step students wrote about their creations and drew their environments.

Exoskeletons (ages 11-14) with Pablo: In this course young artists were challenged to develop a prototype for a body suit that could help a person survive in an extreme environment. Students first chose their environment and then designed the elements of their suit around that. The young artists fluidly moved between drawing out their designs, testing out materials, mechanisms and unique ideas, problem solving concepts that didn't work out, and then going back to the drawing board. Some students worked in pairs, others focused on their own vision. Either way they were very dedicated to their project and very engaged in coming up with clever ways to combat cold, lack of water, too much water and more. At the end of the session students put on a 'fashion show' and articulately described all of the concepts behind their creations.

CityArts Open Studio (ages 8-14):  In the afternoons this summer CityArts youth were broken into two groups, based on age, and were given the opportunity to have a more relaxed and open ended studio session. Teaching artists acted as mentors of various disciplines such as digital media, printmaking, watercolor, etc. and students were able to move freely from activity to activity. Students enjoyed being able to choose their projects, their pace and the level of seriousness with which they wanted to place on any particular project.

Fashion Futures (ages 11-14) was very successful. Ali Blake worked with an enthusiastic group of young artists to learn about the state of fashion design by visiting the RISD museum and Joe Sagle’s studio, doing research and creating mood boards from magazines. Students then learned about the basics of sewing, including stitches, use of sewing machines, details about various fabrics, and pattern design. They took a trip to the fabric store to select their own fabric, and then began to create their own outfits, working in teams to create a distinct line. Students were incredibly proud of the work they created, and put on a show stopping fashion show at the end of session event.