Description
WHO WE ARE & WHY
Art Studio Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization, made up of skilled volunteers, teaching artists, and professional mentors. Our goal is to empower young minds by providing a safe space within the schools and communities, for career focused, creative-holistic art integrated programs and mentoring to take place. Art Studio’s engaging programs encourage creative thinking, personal responsibility, career development, environmental awareness, and positive self-images - all of which increase student’s chances for self-sufficiency and long-term success.
Our core values include utilizing the arts as a resource in advocating for human rights, developing Life Skills and exposing our youth to attainable professional career path solutions.
WHAT WE DO & HOW
Art Integration - Art studio utilizes project based learning models with the integration of multiple art modalities, both creative and holistic to compliment standard educational requirements. A students learning style is recognized via multiple intelligence arts instruction, adding support to learning language, history, science, and math through the arts and wellness.
Creative Thinking - Developing creative thinking skills allows youth living in poverty to formulate options that empower them to do more than just survive the circumstances they were born into. Due to budget cuts many schools in low-income communities do not offer even the basic arts to their students. Key to the mission of Art Studio is the development of creative thinking skills. Art, and the creative thinking it inspires, empowers our youth with the tools and skills needed to build successful careers and maintain successful lives. Creative thinking and innovation are vital career skills needed to participate in the global economy of tomorrow. We empower youth with the tools to become active citizens in a challenging economy.
Balanced Wellness - Our Art Studio philosophy on wellness is based in the science that 'everything is energy’. We believe wellness is a gift that we choose to create and give ourselves on every level of being; body, mind and soul. We believe our health is determined and influenced by our lifestyle choices. When we are balanced and in good health we are positioned for success.
The areas of wellness Art Studio strives to bring awareness and balance to are:
BODY - Our Physical Bodies - how we care for ourselves, the body our soul lives in
MIND - Our Mental & Emotional Bodies - how we convey our thoughts & emotions to ourselves and others
SOUL - Our Spiritual Bodies - how we connect to our higher power and express faith, love, gratitude, and peace
Environmental Awareness - Art Studio is committed to integrity in every aspect of our programs. This includes instilling a strong sense of environmental responsibility as one of our core values. Our specific Eco-Art projects for go deeper to bring environmental issues into our youth’s consciousness. Throughout all of our programs our youth are taught the '3 Environmental R’s’. From recycling to reusing to reducing - awareness and action are important as we work to fulfill, sustain and model our environmental commitment to our world and developing environmental responsibility in the youth we serve.
Film, Media & Technology - Because of the importance of documentation, and the power of film & media to create social change & empower youth, Art Studio is committed to making Film, Media and Technology apart of every program. Our use of film is eagerly embraced by our youth. This helps us retain the attention of transient youth and offers a solution to tracking and evaluating the success of the programs.
Supportive Mentorship - Art Studio provides a safe structured setting for mentors to guide, support, and inspire at-risk youth. These valuable mentoring relationships have immediate, positive effects on behavior and self-esteem. Modeling dependability, commitment, kindness, integrity, wellness, professionalism and the gratitude of mutually beneficial service, Art Studio mentors empower by creating relevancy and providing the creative thinking tools that motivate and enable our youth towards upward mobility out of poverty to become positive citizens in their own communities.
Support Of Foster Care Youth
Art Studio in the Schools, Communities & at Home - Art Studio uses art as a tool to enhance educational, emotional, and career development. Our Art Studio programs directly complement and support in-school curriculum, using multiple intelligences to reinforce classroom learning with creative, engaging, and proven methods. Art Studio teaching artists will meet with teachers to share curriculum and provide supplemental arts based opportunities for delivering subject matter using project-based learning.
