#artsanded

National Arts in Education Week BAC's Arts in Education Program Partners with CAMBA to Present Professional Development Workshops for Staff and Student Artists

This past winter, BAC and CAMBA, a Brooklyn-based social service organization, provided support for four organizations in Brownsville and East New York as they designed and produced original murals for the Teen Action Mural Project on Anti-Violence. BAC Teaching Artist and mural artist Pamella Allen trained CAMBA staff and presented workshops for student artists creating work at the sites. Mural painting offers students the unique opportunity to create work outside the bounds of the classroom and the chance to express themselves positively in public, in full view of the immediate community. "The students and CAMBA staff were wonderful as usual but one moment stood out," says Pamella Allen. "For the first 10 minutes, one of the students made very little eye contact and did not respond when called. As I prompted the students to illustrate their world without violence, without guns, this student stared at a stool that was near his desk and was disengaged. After asking him what he loved, his reply was 'math,' so I asked him to illustrate a mathematical equation that would equal peace, as in, love plus no guns plus more schools equals peace." Later, after contributing to the group project, the student explained that he invented his equation after observing his seat, noticing the symmetry created by the four screws on the top of the stool, and by connecting the lines he noticed. "The arts expose young people to new choices," says Frances Platt, CAMBA Brevoort Director. "You need time to build a rapport with the young people. I would love to expose them to unique art programs that they have never had before." BAC is proud to provide community-based arts experiences in partnership with local groups like CAMBA, helping Brooklynites develop their creative capacities. Communities become more vibrant and livable when people see themselves as inventors, change-makers, and artists.

Learn more about BAC Arts in Education.

National Arts in Education Week  CASA Spotlight: PS 376 in Bushwick and JHS 234 Cunningham School in Sheepshead Bay

From January through June 2017, BAC provided over 70 after school arts residencies across Brooklyn, working with students from Kindergarten through the 12th grade. Two of these phenomenal CASA residencies took place at PS 376 in Bushwick and at JHS 234 Cunningham School in Sheepshead Bay. Fourth-grade students at PS 376 in Bushwick became filmmakers in their Digital Media after school program. Teaching artist and filmmaker Jaimie Warren worked with the students as they designed insects with unusual and magical properties, writing back stories and creating environments for their insects. The students crafted their creatures out of papier-mâché and painted backdrops for their insects to move across. Using a digital camera, the students developed, shot, and edited short animated films of their bugs moving across their painted backdrops. The moving images were accompanied by recorded voiceover of the students describing their insects' back stories and magical properties in a monologue told from the bug's point of view. This residency, part of the Cultural After-School Adventures (CASA) program supported by Council Member Rafael Espinal, continued a long-term relationship BAC has with PS 376. In the first digital media residency held at the school, Warren was able to lead her students through this multi-step arts project thanks to the support provided by partner teacher Ms. Guarino. At PS 376, the CASA program provided opportunities for both students and arts educators to learn new skills by introducing multimedia arts into the classroom: the fourth graders were excited to create art in a new discipline and educators were thrilled to provide an innovative learning opportunity for their students. In Sheepshead Bay, middle school students at JHS 234 Cunningham School studied visual arts with veteran BAC Teaching Artist Pamella Allen. For their culminating event and exhibition, the students presented artist statements that detailed their personal processes as innovators and makers. One eighth grade student shared ideas about persistence and revision: "We worked and reworked this project with Pamella. Reworking the project let me experiment and try something new. I learned that my work can turn into something different and new as I work on it, different from my original vision." This residency, a CASA program supported by Council Member Chaim Deutsch, inspired another student artist, in the sixth grade: "I usually struggle with the blank page, but this time I did not," she said. "I had a lot of inspiration. I was inspired by the freedom to do anything and create anything. I surprised myself that I could create this artwork. The feeling of that surprise was amazing." The student went on to detail how the experience working with Allen inspired her to think about her future career options. "I was inspired by working with a professional artist," she said. "I want to be like her. I might want to be an art teacher or an artist too." BAC's CASA residencies not only provide students with ample opportunities to draw, paint, and to explore a variety of visual media, they provide learning experiences that extend beyond the canvas or paper. Through these residencies, students expand their capacity for critical and creative thinking, develop perseverance, and practice risk-taking and problem-solving. BAC's CASA programs help students tap into their imaginations and develop strategies to meet real world challenges.

Learn more about BAC Arts in Education