Art Education Program Analysis - School of Architecture and Allied ...

and recognize that art is a vehicle that can be used to engage them and increase
their self‐esteem. They say that the delivery of the program is a collaborative effort
among the artist, social service provider, teacher, agency staff, youth, and family.
They emphasize dynamic teaching tactics such as hands‐on learning, apprentice
relationships, and the use of technology as well as providing youth with
opportunities to succeed and take on leadership roles. They also state that programs
should lead to a public performance or exhibition in an effort to build participants’
self‐esteem through public recognition. Additionally, programs are designed with
evaluation systems built in from the beginning to measure their intended outcomes.
In A Report on Community­Based Youth Organizations, Heath, Soep, and Roach
(1998) state that effective youth arts organizations engage across the spectrum,
including visual, movement, music, drama, and media, and emphasize the
importance of community partnerships and events. McLaughlin puts it simply in
Community Counts. She says the best programs are youth, knowledge, and
assessment centered.
New Urban Arts programming exemplifies these practices with their six core
components that provide education and professional development for youth and for
adult artist mentors. These programs are:
1. Their Youth Mentorship Program partners Artist Mentors with small
groups of high school students for an entire year. They foster risk‐taking
and self‐discovery through community building and creative arts projects
designed collaboratively by both Artist Mentors and youth.
2. Their Artist Mentor Professional Development Program trains and
supports their Artist Mentors each year. Topics include: youth
development, community arts practice, nonprofit management and
community‐building.
3. Their Studio Team Advisory Board (STAB) is a collective of students
and alumni who meet regularly and work to cultivate New Urban Arts as
a youth‐driven studio. They advocate for youth voice; advise the staff and
board of directors; represent the organization to community leaders and
supporters; assist in the recruitment and orientation of new students;
annually interview and selecting artist mentors; organize exhibits, events,
publications and arts workshops for the public.
4. Their Summer Art Inquiry is a thematic‐based arts inquiry program in
which artists, scholars and high school students spend the summer
exploring a common theme from a from a multi‐disciplinary standpoint
including research, art‐making, creative writing and personal inquiry.