New Urban Arts

Programs

Our programs have three learning goals for our students and artist mentors: to strengthen self-initiative, to improve one's capacity to build strong, trusting relationships with others, and to deepen and expand their creative practice.

They address three needs: A need for innovative arts education for urban youth, a need for future leaders who value the role imagination plays in the positive development of youth and communities, and a need for quality after-school programming.

New Urban Arts has three core programs:

The Youth Mentorship Program partners Artist Mentors with small groups of high school students who develop powerful mentoring relationships through our free yearlong after-school program. Together, they foster risk taking and self-discovery through community building and creative arts projects designed collaboratively by Artist Mentors and youth in our interdisciplinary art studio. Studio Study Buddies are available to tutor students individually in math, science and writing.
The Artist Mentor Professional Development Program trains and supports 20 Artist Mentors each year who collectively volunteer over 3,000 hours of instruction and mentoring in the arts throughout the academic school year. New Urban Arts staff lead workshops for mentors in monthly meetings, all-day retreats, weekly small-group meetings and 1:1 coaching. Topics include: youth development, community arts practice, nonprofit management and community-building. The program is supplemented by guest presentations of artists, educators, and diverse community leaders.

The 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 by advocating for youth voice; advising the staff and board of directors; representing the organization to community leaders and supporters; assisting in the recruitment and orientation of new students; annually interviewing and selecting artist mentors; organizing exhibits, events, publications and arts workshops for the public.
The Summer Art Inquiry is a thematic-based arts inquiry program in which artists, scholars and 30 high school students spend July and August collectively exploring a common theme from a from a multi-disciplinary standpoint including research, art-making, creative writing and personal inquiry. Themes selected explore the human experience as it intersects with creative practice. Themes thus far have included mapmaking, shrine-making and correspondence. The Summer Art Inquiry culminates in student-led public workshops and an exhibition. Students receive stipends for their participation and acquire in-depth thematic knowledge and job-readiness skills.
The Arts Mentoring Fellowship supports two established artists and educators, in this yearlong position, to enhance New Urban Arts’ image in the field of community arts through reflective documentation of our studio learning community. Fellows publicly share knowledge, ideas and artwork about community arts practice and convene public conversations on sustaining lifelong creative practice. Additionally, Fellows support the professional development of Artist Mentors at New Urban Arts through regular inquiry sessions for Mentors to reflect on lessons learned about community-based arts practice for youth. In the tradition of collegiate professors, Fellows attend regular studio hours each week for artist mentors to seek immediate feedback through direct, one-on-one consultation.

New Urban Arts also provides the opportunity for students to exhibit, perform, and publish throughout the year. New Urban Arts has an annual fashion show in which students model clothing designed and sewn by other students, poetry readings at two art openings, two student art exhibits, a student-produced zine publication that features their artwork, and an annual compilation of student poetry. Gallery exhibitions incorporate wall text to share artist statements, program impact, and reflection. This year, New Urban Arts hosts 10 public events which reach an expected audience of over 2,000 youth, families, artists, educators, youth advocates and community members. Students are also encouraged to initiate independent projects beyond the above programs. For example, a committee of 5 teens recently joined to coordinate an all night "Youth Arts Lock-In" to take place during Spring Break.

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