Arts Explorers Program Culminates in Multi-Arts Exhibition

Oddfellows Playhouse's Arts Explorers program completed its third fantastic year on Wednesday evening with a public exhibition of their work, including dance performance, writing and visual art.  The program is a collaboration between the Playhouse and the Middletown Youth Service Bureau.

In the Arts Explorers, Woodrow Wilson Middle School students, working under the mentorship of artists Kate Rushin (Writing), Joel Teixidor (Dance) and Renee Soares (Visual Arts), focused exclusively on visual arts, dance, or writing, developing a performance piece, works of art for a gallery exhibit, or a literary project that can be read or published.  Middletown High School Dragons-in-Action serve as teaching assistants, guiding the younger students and participating in each art form as a peer example.

The Arts Explorers began the year by having first hand exposure to professional arts exhibitions in each area of dance, visual art and writing visiting the Wesleyan CFA, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery and the Hartford Public Library Art Work and Archive.   Between October and May they have been exposed to, learned and honed skills and styles in their particular art forms.

“The Arts Explorers program wouldn’t exist without the help of many other people and organizations and their commitment to keeping it going.  The program was originally funded in 2008 by an Underserved Youth Pilot grant from the State of CT’s Commission on Culture and Tourism.  As the state money went away, organizations like the Middlesex United Way, Middletown Youth Service Bureau, Liberty Bank Foundation, American Savings Foundation, Fund for Greater Hartford, George A and Grace L. Long Foundation, Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Fund and Elizabeth Carse Foundation stepped in or stepped up their support to keep this successful program alive.  We have these community organizations and their leadership to thank for this positive program” said Oddfellows’ Executive Director Matt Pugliese.

The final project is an open exhibition of their works, showcased in a professional style and given the support and atmosphere of a curated art exhibit.  Visual arts include painting in acrylics and oils, multimedia mask-making, drawing, and mixed media constructions; literary pieces ranged from poetry to short stories, dance ranged from Africa Gum Boot to Bollywood. 

An important aspect of the program is job training.  Students are expected to treat the program with the same responsibility as a job, earning money for attendance and being docked pay for each missed class.  Over the course of the program students can earn up to $200 dollars.  “The money is not the primary outcome, but instead a motivator to develop important life skills around responsibility and work ethic” said Program Coordinator Joanna Perricone.  The sales from the final exhibition benefit the individual artists.  The students’ book sales, dance box office earnings, and visual art receipts are part of the educational process of working as a professional artist.  The final exhibition was well-attended by family, friends, teachers and community leaders. 

About Oddfellows Playhouse:
Oddfellows Playhouse is located at 128 Washington Street, Middletown.   For more than 35 years Oddfellows Playhouse has been more than just a performing arts program.  It aims to make a positive difference in the lives of 1,500 young people each year by using the arts as tools to build self-confidence, communication skills, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation for the richness and diversity of the world in which we live.

Oddfellows’ programs are made possible by major support from CT State Department of Education, the CT Department of Economic and Community Development, Middlesex United Way, The Stare Fund, Pratt & Whitney, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, Middlesex County Community Foundation, Tower Labs and Daphne Sebolt Culpeper Foundation.   Media support provided by Comcast and WESU 88.1FM. 

Developmental Asset Message of the Week - Reading for Pleasure

(Here's Melissa's Asset Message of the Week regarding "Teen Read Week" that she sent via email on Tues. Since the week is basically over, let's just say every week should be "Teen Read Week" right? ;)

As I was trying to decide what to focus on for this week's Developmental Asset Message, an email came through from Ann Buchanan, the wonderful Media Specialist at Middletown High School. The email introduced Teen Read Week, which sounded interesting and I decided to look into it further. Annually, the Young Adult Library Services Association celebrates Teen Read Week during the third week of October. This is a time for parents, educators, librarians, and other caring adults to encourage the youth in their lives to read for fun. As we know from the Developmental Asset survey that was administered in 2006, only 21% of our teens in grades 7-12 stated that they read for pleasure. It is up to us as a community to help improve that statistic. Reading can be fun, relaxing, free and give our kids a safe activity to take part in. Reading for fun can also translate into better performance at school.


Some suggestions for encouraging reading with teens are:

• Visit the public or school library with a teen to attend a program or to check out books.
• Set aside time each night for your family to read.
• Give books or magazine subscriptions to your teen.
• Share your favorite book with a teen.
• Model a love for reading to the teens in your life.

To find out other ways that you can celebrate Teen Read Week in Middletown and also help instill a life long love for reading and learning in youth visit:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2011/home.cfm

Arts Explorers Exhibition

On Thursday May 12 beginning at 6:00pm, the Arts Explorers program will hold a public exhibition of their work at Oddfellows Playhouse. Please join us this evening, as our community celebrates the work of our young people.

The evening begins with readings by the writing group led by Artist-Mentor Kate Rushin, followed by dance performances led by Artist-Mentor Joel Teixidor. Afterwards the audience is invited to join the students for a reception in the Hoffman Studio, where the many visual art pieces will be displayed and on sale, led by Artist-Mentor Renee Soares.

The 35 Arts Explorers students are from Keigwin and Woddrow Wilson Middle Schools. Students meet at the Playhouse one evening a week and work exclusively with a professional artist on visual art, writing or dance. Students develop both their artistic skills and learn how to make a career in the arts. Students will receive the proceeds from Thursday evening's exhibition, marking their debut as professional artists.

The Arts Explorers program is a part of Oddfellows' Neighborhood Troupes program for At-Risk and Underserved Youth, and is a partnership with the Middletown Youth Services Bureau, which provides extra support for the teens at the school level.

The Neighborhood Troupes/Arts Explorers program is made possible by generous funding from the Middlesex United Way, Middletown Youth Services Educational Incentive Grant, American Savings Foundation, Liberty Bank Foundation, Citizens Bank, Elizabeth Carse Foundation, George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation and the Thomas J. Atkins Memorial Fund and many other generous donors.

Grants Available for Youth Development

From Justin Carbonella

The Middletown Youth Services Bureau announces two grant opportunities for the Middletown community. The first is the City’s Educational Incentives Challenge Grant. For the fourth year in a row, the 2:1 matching grant, allows for $55,000 to be awarded to local youth development programs. Specifically, the grant is looking to fund program activities for children in Grades K-12 that help support at-risk, under-represented students who traditionally are not involved in programming outside the regular school day. These activities may be of academic, recreational, cultural, physical, psychological, and/or emotional benefit to the child. The funding range per grant is between $2,500 and $10,000 but a 2:1 match (agency to city) must be in place.

In addition to the funding, the grant also focuses on supporting programs implement a youth development framework called the 40 Developmental Assets, endorsed by the YSB and the community at large. The assets are building blocks that help all young people grow into healthy and successful adults and have been proven, both nationally and locally, to also protect against a host of risk factors. A bidders conference for the grant has been scheduled for August 28^th at 10am in the Board of Education’s Conference Room A.

An additional funding opportunity from the department is provided through the Middletown Substance Abuse Prevention Council which the YSB co-chairs along with the Rushford Center. The MSAPC is releasing its mini-grants for the 2009-10 grant cycle. The grants which offer a max funding level of $1,000 may be used to support any substance prevention or youth development program in the community. A priority will be given to applications that specifically address issues of prescription drug and heroin use, as both will be priorities for the council this upcoming year. All successful grantees will be required to have a representative join the council which meets on the third Wednesday of every month in the Middletown High School Media Center at 3pm. All members of the community are welcomed to join.

Information on the Educational Incentives Challenge Grant and the MSAPC mini-grants can be found on the YSB’s website at www.middletownyouthservices.com or by calling Justin Carbonella, Youth Services Coordinator at 860-347-8594 ext 4517.