This is a win-win situation for our students and our audiences. I have been able to observe the give and take between them as the students make their presentations, answer questions, and work one on one with audiences.... It's rewarding to see personal perceptions change. Naeemah Jackson, Coordinator, Student-Based Learning

Jesse B. Meredith, Jr., a young African-American male who participated in the Community Connection program of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and now studies education at Morehouse College, had just completed his presentation on Africa when an 80-year-old woman approached him. "'You're very polite and so knowledgeable,' she said. I started to thank her for the compliment, but she wasn't quite finished. 'I thought all young black men were thieves and robbers, but you seem really nice.' There was not a trace of irony in her voice. I looked at her for a moment without speaking. Finally, I said, 'No, Ma'am, that isn't true. In any group you have good and bad, and I think, when it comes to most folks, there are almost always more of the good.' She smiled at me, shook my hand warmly, and shuffled down the aisle."

What began simply as an outreach effort to increase African-American attendance at the museum today engages a multicultural group of 15 to 20 urban youth as paid interns over a three-year period. They gain experience in conservation, graphic design, marketing, accounting, development, library, volunteer services, studio classes, education, and the curatorial area. Each member studies an aspect of the art, architecture, and history of a specific culture, such as India or China. Then the students prepare a 90-minute presentation that includes a lecture, the explanation and display of artistic replicas, and a hands-on activity for the audience. Finally, they take their show on the road to as many as 2,000 people in 55 Indiana libraries, schools, and community centers in the summer of 1999. These presentations are delivered in rural, urban and suburban areas.

Museum staff believes that one of the program's strengths is sustained staff interaction with students. For this reason and because the museum has limited human resources, intern groups are kept small. However, the gains in self-esteem, professional skills, and human understanding are large. Alumnus LaTasha Timberlake, who credits her Community Connection experience for winning a grant to study in Ghana and Nigeria, says "By studying the history, culture, and traditions of people, I really understood that everyone wants the same things for themselves and their families."