Life Lines Community Arts Project
Center for Family Life, St. Christopher-Ottilie, Inc.

Vocal ensemble presents selection from Shades of Sunset.

Photo: Maura Marquez

Celebrating its 21st anniversary this year, St. Christopher-Ottilie, Inc.'s Life Lines Community Arts Project—an initiative of the Center for Family Life, a family-focused, neighborhood based social services agency—is a free, year-round program that brings together education, the arts, and social services to promote individual growth, sustain families, and create a sense of community.

Life Lines' two programs, After-School Arts Program and Summer Art Camp, provide quality instruction to youth from the immigrant community of Sunset Park. Based at Middle School 136, both programs operate five days a week and provide instruction in dance, acting, singing, percussion, the visual arts, photography, and creative writing, along with daily homework assistance, computer access, and academic enrichment.

For example, After-School Arts participants engage in three productions each year. In the fall, they create a musical adaptation of a literature-based play. Past productions have been based on such classics as Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth. Additional activities throughout the year include coursework in academic subjects and the arts—from math and history to dance and creative writing. The culminating presentations, such as a percussion composition based on mathematical concepts and fractions, reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the program and generate enthusiasm for learning.

A recent highlight of the After-School Arts Program was Reflections on September 11th, a project that developed out of the participants' desire to explore feelings related to the tragic events of this day. Teens recorded their reactions to September 11, 2001, and to the heroism of local firefighters. They interviewed people in the community about their thoughts and feelings, combined the results with photographs, and created a newsletter that they shared with the firehouse and the neighborhood. Students also used excerpts from their interviews to create an ensemble theater piece presented in their spring show, Sunset Stories.

During the Summer Art Camp, participants take advantage of the diverse and rich educational resources available in New York City by taking daylong cultural outings, attending outdoor festivals, and participating in in-depth arts experiences. For instance, campers recently visited the Museum of Natural History and, in addition, participated in a 2003 summer production of Country Mouse, City Mouse, a musical adaptation of the classic fable by Aesop.

Life Lines creates a number of practical opportunities for its students. Teenagers have paid summer jobs in dance and theater troupes. A high-school internship and mentoring program gives young people daily help with their homework, access to computers, leadership training, and opportunities to enrich their educational experience by contributing to their community.