Applied Sciences Individual Assignment: Journal Article Review
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Whether in a small town or large metropolis, our park and recreation programs
can be integral in tying our communi- ty together and vital for the success of our youth. Those who regularly partici- pate in the arts are more likely to have academic achievement, be elected to a class office position, win awards, read for pleasure and perform community service. For those at-risk youth, the arts can deter truancy and delinquent behav- ior and increase academic performance, according to Americans for the Arts.
Understanding the community’s inter- est in the arts is paramount in prioritizing program depth and breadth. Americans
for the Arts suggests first determining what your community wants from an arts program, what it wants to achieve and where interest lies; then determin- ing how the arts are supported politically and financially in your community and what funds are, or could be, utilized for programs. Americans for the Arts also has resources for marketing, establishing a local network and creating relation- ships with local businesses.
Arts programs come in many shapes and sizes — from traditional summer camps and afterschool programs to high- ly specialized and focused programming. Finding the right fit for your community is the key to a successful program.
Afterschool Arts While there is often a plethora of activ- ities and classes available for preschool- and elementary-school-aged children, our middle and high school students seldom have much available to them. According to Afterschool Alliance, “On
school days, the hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime, and quality afterschool programs for young people offered during those hours can help prevent youth violence.”
The city of Austin, Texas, created the Totally Cool, Totally Art program specifi- cally to reach this age group. The Har- vard Family Research Project says the goals of the program are to “increase youths’ (1) sense of belonging and feel- ing that they have safe, positive and cre- ative environments in which to partici- pate during free time; (2) opportunities to expand knowledge, skills and possible career interest in art; (3) trust and respect for other youth, adult mentors, artists and other authority figures; (4) ability to work cooperatively with other youth and communicate effectively in a group; and (5) ability to make creative and positive choices through self-expression.”
The Totally Cool, Totally Art program was established in 1996, originally to thwart gang violence. To date, the program has re-
By Paula Jacoby-Garrett
Creating Successful, Lasting Arts Programs
Art enables us to find
ourselves and lose
ourselves at the same time.
— Thomas Merton
Unleashed:
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A R T S U N L E A S H E D
ceived the Nickelodeon Television Award for Best Local Teen Art Program, and sever- al NRPA awards, among others. Offerings have included culinary arts, fashion design, soft sculpture, painting, STEAM, ceramics, metalsmith, jewelry making, mask making, drumming and urban painting. Each ses- sion runs five weeks, with instructors rotat- ing between recreation centers.
“We just finished our 21st year of this regional and national award-win- ning program,” says Kelly Hasandras, program specialist for the city of Aus- tin. “We serve 150 teens a week, ages 12– 18, in eight recreation centers, and we create different classes every year to keep it fresh. We are trying to help two differ- ent communities with this program. We hire emerging artists in the community to teach these classes so they get valuable experience teaching. And, it is valuable for the students who take the classes.”
Arts and Culture As the recipient of the 2016 National Gold Metal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management, the town of Cary, North Carolina, takes its cultural resources very seriously. “Our arts pro- grams run the gamut from hands-on class-
es in painting, pottery, fused glass, metals, woodworking and textiles to performance classes in drama and dance, and vari- ous music areas, including guitar, piano, voice and our popular bluegrass summer camps. In addition, we offer classes in filmmaking, video game production and history camps,” says Lyman Collins, cul- tural arts manager. Programs are available for those 18 months old to seniors.
The Town of Cary also hosts a robust film festival, national musical and theat- rical acts, and cultural events such as the Diwali Festival, which is celebrated with the local Indian-American community. “A new off-season program at the am- phitheater is the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival, where incredible Chinese ‘lanterns’ — tall, intricate cloth-covered figures lit internally — are built on-site by Chinese craftspeople and then left on-site for six weeks. [They] drew over 90,000 visi- tors this past holiday season,” says Collins.
“Because the Cary Arts Center brings together the visual and performing arts in one facility, we have nurtured oppor- tunities for programs to complement each other. For example, for a perfor- mance with a touring artist in our Mar- velous Music series, our arts classes have
worked with young people on drawing to the music — expressing their art based on the music they hear,” says Collins. The city also works with more than 30 local arts organizations to assist in facili- tating its programs and goals. This wide range of arts programs and activities are what has made the Town of Cary suc- cessful and nationally recognized. As Collins says, “variety is our strength.”
Art not only can engage our youth, but also can work toward social change. Along the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, a team of young community members creat- ed a mural that not only documents the his- tory of the greenway, but also incorporates themes of hope and reconciliation. Truly a team effort, the project was spearheaded by the Welcome Table New Orleans Mid- City Circle, the Young Artists Movement (YAM) and Prospect New Orleans.
“The lead artist, Keith Duncan, led workshops with young people to teach skills in mural-making. [After community engagement], he worked with them to cre- ate the ultimate image that would be creat- ed at Lemann Pool,” says Alphonse Smith, director of the Arts Council New Orleans. “We had over 100 community members participate, putting on the initial coats of paint. We had people from ages 5 to over 60 coming out to kick off the project. From there, the young people who were chosen to participate in the project completed the rest of the mural.” Today, the mural stands as a reminder of the talent of our youth and the power of community arts projects.
Dance When a program is successful, it lasts, and the San Diego Civic Dance Arts program has done just that for 75 years. Through the years, the program has in- troduced hundreds of thousands to the art form of dance, and has been lauded as the standard by which other citywide dance programs nationwide measure themselves. The program serves San Di- ego residents from 3 years old to senior citizens across 20 locations.
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The Town of Cary, North Carolina, provides a variety of programming for those from 18 months to seniors.
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The program runs more than 200 class- es weekly from ballet to hip-hop to Bolly- wood, and many other classes in between. It provides youth summer camps, ad- vanced training camps, master classes, an adult workshop, and a workshop specifi- cally to increase the participation of boys.
“There is less interest in the tradition- al arts programing, such as ceramics and crafts, and more interest in perfor- mance-based arts, including dance, sing- ing and dramatic arts,” says Deputy Di- rectors Kathy Ruiz and David Monroe.
A large part of the program’s success is the caliber of instructors it brings to the program each year. World-class instruc- tors and choreographers give the classes a level of quality and professionalism not typically seen in a city-run program. Be- yond the number of classes it offers, this program has successfully secured more than 25,000 hours of volunteer support on an annual basis. This volunteer sup- port helps offset personnel costs and es- tablish community support. Financially, the San Diego Civic Dance program holds its own — in 2016, the program netted more than $300,000.
The program has received a multitude of awards, including the 2017 nomination for Bravo Award for Best Dance Concert, 2016 Bravo Award for Best Dance Con- cert, 2016 Presidential and Mayoral Vol- unteer Awards to two long-term volun- teers, 2014 Bravo San Diego Award, and the 2013 Presidential Volunteer Award from Barack Obama, among others.
“The program is successful because the staff and I are dedicated to its suc- cess,” says Andrea Feier, dance special- ist. “Many of the staff have grown up in this program and now teach for it out of a love for both the program as well as a passion for dance and the arts.” “Three of my staff have been teaching for 38 or more years, and most of the others have been here 10-plus years. As a graduate of The Juilliard School, I utilize my contacts in the world of dance to bring in guest artists from major modern dance compa-
nies, Broadway, and film and television to uplift and inspire our dance community.”
Filmmaking For the Camacho Activity Center in Austin, Texas, outdoor education and nature-based programing are its usual fare, but it has expanded its horizons into filmmaking and photography. There are filmmaking camps during winter and spring break and several during the sum- mer for students ages 5–18.
“Each week-long camp incorporates filmmaking education, including writ- ing, camera operation, sound, lighting, acting, editing and more. Each camp films an original story that is later show- cased in our annual film festival in the fall,” says Ryan Eaker, Camacho activity supervisor. “In addition to these film- making camps, we lead nature photog- raphy outreach programs throughout the school year to primarily underserved populations, lower-income schools, rec- reation centers and community groups.”
Filmmaking and photography are pop- ular with youth, and today’s cellphone technology has allowed students to take high-quality images and video without the
added cost of expensive equipment. These classes are extremely popular. For Eaker, it is about staying current: “It’s crucial to stay on the forefront of the technological front, and remain pioneering in the ways that you teach and educate the public.
“Now it’s about teaching those par- ticipants to look at the world around them in a different way and expose the art and beauty in the objects and envi- ronment that surround them, which they honestly aren’t noticing with their heads buried in their phones,” says Eaker. “We allow kids to take a handful of selfies to get that out of the way and then focus (so to speak) on getting physically close to natural objects and playing with per- spective and vantage points, lighting and storytelling through photography.”
Theatre For Hasandras, her latest challenge is ex- panding an already successful program in a new direction. This is the second year of the Totally Cool, Totally Art Theatre Camp. This fast-paced theatre camp takes stu- dents ages 12–17 through the process of creating a theatrical production.
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Filmmaking and photography classes at the Camacho Activity Center in Austin, Texas,
are offered during the summer and during winter and spring break.
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Students attend workshops in acting, directing, improv comedy, dance, design and puppetry. They also visit a professional theatre to see a show and tour backstage. The students then create their own production and take it to local parks.
“We bring together kids from all over Austin. We have four weeks to write, cast, direct, write songs, and make costumes and set pieces for the production. Then, we take the production out to our summer playgrounds program, a free outdoor playground camp for children 6–12, primarily for kids with high needs, most of whom have never seen a play before,” says Hasandras.
Conclusion Regardless of the size of your budget, number of constituents or type of facilities, the key to creating and maintaining a success- ful arts program is finding what works for you and your residents. “Give them a ‘tribe’ to belong to that instills discipline, commit- ment, integrity, artistry, self-expression and teamwork. Find teach- ers who are dedicated to teaching and to continuing to learn them- selves,” says Feier. The programs mentioned all have one thing in common: they cultivate ties within the community, resulting in a strong, healthy community for years to come.
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Paula Jacoby-Garrett is a Freelance Writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada (paula. jacoby.garrett@gmail.com).
parks, was really more about specific things: How does moss grow on the roots of a tree? How do pebbles collect in clusters, what do they look like, and how do we make that look natural? While it seems effortless, when you’re placing pebbles by hand in a 3D en- vironment, it’s very difficult to make those things appear natural.”
Careful attention was also paid to the natural attributes of the char- acters. For example, the squirrels featured in the film walk around on two legs and gesture with their arms. Brunker says that when they are running, however, they’re always seen moving on all fours. “We try to keep certain animal behaviors consistent.”
Hollywood Thinks Green Surprisingly, Tinsel Town has long embraced stories that center on environmental themes. In fact, these types of animated movies date back decades, entertaining children while educating them about green issues like land conservation and climate change. They include classics such as: “Bambi” (1942), “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992), “Over the Hedge” (2006), “Happy Feet” (2006) and “WALL-E” (2008).
Dickson contends there are Hollywood directors and writers who believe they have a moral obligation to bring awareness about these issues through storytelling. However, “the real challenge is to do that without hitting the audience over the head, because people tend to act negatively when they think they’re being preached to. It’s not our job to tell people how to think; it’s our job to make people aware of issues. And, if we offer a solution, it’s just our solution for our charac- ters. Everyone has to make up his or her own mind,” he says.
Surly Across America To promote the film’s August theater release, Surly and “The Nut Job 2” gang have embarked on a 30-city tour across the United States, participating in a series of Park Day events. The first Park Day event kicked off on June 10 during National Get Outdoors Day at Sloan’s Lake Park in Denver. On July 4, Surly appeared at Kansas City’s Cor- porate Woods for its Star Spangled Spectacular, taking photos with children while encouraging them to clean up the park. Other stops included Heritage Park in Las Vegas (July 6), Pancakes in the Woods at Chicago’s Emily Oakes Nature Center (July 9), and Dallas End of Summer Bash at Dallas Parks & Recreation (July 21). This month, fans of the movie can meet Surly in person at Seattle Seafair in Genesee Park, August 5–6.
What’s the Takeaway? Dickson says “The Nut Job 2” is about the strength of friendship and the commitments we make. “It’s more than just a story about a squir- rel,” he points out. “It’s a story about Surly dealing with something bigger than himself for the betterment of the community.”
Brunker agrees. “It happens to be a story about animals, but the theme is really about us all taking care of each other. We’re all human beings and we’re all in this together. We’ve got one world and we have to look out for each other by looking out for our planet.”
Vitisia Paynich is a Freelance Writer based in Chino Hills, California (vpaynich@gmail.com).
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