At the start of this Winter’s Learning and Achieving Through the Arts session, our teaching artists and program staff collaborated to develop new programming tailored to meet and support the unique social, cognitive and creative developmental needs of our middle school youth.

Over the course of 4 months and 16 weekly meetings, middle school students and their participating teacher cycle through a total of four art forms, including a handful of brand new Inner-City Arts in-school day offerings: Visual Arts, Ceramics, Creativity Lab, Digital Music Production, Comic Book Workshop, Songwriting, Printing and Letterforms, and Urban Dance.

The theme of the program—”I am a Creator: My Art is My Voice “—is aimed to empower our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and serves as a holistic connection between arts experiences while providing a compelling, developmentally-appropriate entry point into the creative process. Through the session, students are encouraged to recognize their ability to create and utilize various art disciplines as a means of personal expression. 

The session will culminate in a final community gathering on the last day and provides an opportunity for students to share their experiences.