Snow City Arts Foundation

Even when they are in a hospital, students still have educational needs. Each year, the Snow City Arts Foundation provides unique workshops in literature, music, and visual arts to 2,100 youth in hospitals throughout Chicago.

Founded in 1998, the program serves students, ages 4–18, from a broad range of communities throughout the city. Combining innovative approaches with community collaborations in a trio of arts disciplines, Snow City Arts daily sparks the imagination and challenges the intellect of hospitalized youth.

Creative Writing Workshops focus on basic language skills, while introducing young people to the work of great writers. In 2005, more than 100 hospitalized students contributed original material to a special anthology. Snow City Arts’ Music Workshops teach patients to play guitar or piano, read music, and compose and digitally record their own songs. The Play On Program gives motivated students a new acoustic guitar to take home and helps them continue their training in a community music program.

Visual Arts Workshops introduce patients to art history, drawing and painting, plus photography and film. Students in the Young Directors Program learn the skills necessary to create short films. In fact, Snow City Arts participants created the first in-hospital television program, with young patients involved in every facet of production.

Key to the program’s success is its integration into the daily activities of the participating hospitals. Because most of the workshops take place in patients’ rooms, teachers build long-term relationships with the medical staff caring for their students. Furthermore, Snow City Arts is an official partner of the Chicago Public Schools. This alliance ensures that the lessons meet educational standards and that the patients receive classroom credit.

Using the arts as a springboard to learning, Snow City Arts prevents seriously ill youth from falling further behind in their educational development. The workshops provide opportunities for creative self expression and achievement, both essential for a healthy future.