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Y-Arts Detroit
1401 Broadway
Detroit, MI 48322
313.223.2751

 

Partner Comments

“At Don Bosco they are confined. Here (at the YMCA) they have freedom, they can move around. Lots of these kids have anger issues, but when they come here and something goes wrong, they get angry less frequently because they don’t want to mess this up.”—Jimmy Wheeler, Treatment Specialist at Don Bosco

“Our kids have benefited from interacting with these new adults who are artists. The theatrical part was a particular eye-opener. At first it seemed chaotic—in the residential environment at Don Bosco they would be punished for that behavior. Margaret (the theatre instructor) has the ability to get them re-focused.”—Duane Carter, Director, Don Bosco Hall

“Gillian succeeded in fusing two goals: employability and character development with the more holistic experience of creative expression in the arts.”—Danielle Jenkins, Program Director, YMCA Youth and Teen Metro Youth Collaborative

“The Y ARTS Creative Camp helped our program shift its focus away from what kids shouldn’t do and toward what they could do. They now understand there may be a place for them in the creative world.”—Beverly Ortman, Program Director, Macomb County Abstinence Program

“Classes at the Y have increased our students’ motivation. In the beginning, they were hesitant because they were unfamiliar with the arts and didn’t know one another. Quickly they came to really like the hands-on approach.”—Harice Dillard, Gear Up Counselor

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Puppet Theatre Field Trip

Engaging in post-camp assessment, Eaton reports a few things she would adjust in the second year. She would prefer to change the physical location of some of the partner activities on career and character development; ideally she would conduct most activities on-site at the Y. The YMCA is a comfortable, roomy and appealing site for the young people. She would also adjust the art programming so as to provide four weeks of exploratory work wherein the kids can sample each of the disciplines. Then she would invite them to spend the remaining weeks focusing on their areas of natural affinity. These students, new to the creative world, didn’t know at the outset what they liked, and they need some time to find the activity or medium that most excites them. Eaton would also rethink the visual art component, as painting and drawing were not as engaging for the students as pottery or media arts. She would build in Yoga as a daily activity, since this was very popular with the students, who found it relieved tension and provided relaxation as well as engaging the physical body.

Eaton also learned what sort of artist it takes to accomplish her ambitious goals and maximize student achievement. The most effective and inspiring Artist/Educators are mature (late twenties or older) and experienced in teaching students at-risk. The most advantageous combination in an Artist/Educator is a passion for their art and an equal passion for Detroit and for Detroit’s young people. Eaton knows that she will need to garner funding in order to pay at a rate that mature, experienced artists require and deserve. This first year, she paid people between $18 and $35 per hour, and her goal is to pay everybody the $35 rate.