UrbanArts
P.O. Box 1658BostonMA02205
617-536-2880617-536-2822

Program: Youth Works/Art Works Year Started: 1992 Focus: Multidisciplinary Arts Youth Served: 50 Ages: 12-18 Budget: $150,000 UrbanArts' Youth Works/Art Works is helping low-income youth in Boston revitalize their community through the arts while gaining technical skills in photography, writing, videography and urban design. Participants, referred by Action for Boston Community Development and paid through the Job Training Partnership Act, progress through three programs, taking on more responsibility and receiving higher wages as they progress. The first level program, the Apprenticeship, introduces youth to the arts as a vehicle for building communities. Meeting 5 days a week for 5 hours a day over 8 weeks in the summer, teens photograph their neighborhoods, write poems about their community and themselves, develop design ideas for local parks or map their communities. In the second level program, the Arts Internship, youth work at least once a week after school with visiting artists on special projects. Youth in the highest level program, Youth Advisors, are paid for approximately 4 hours per week to generate and work on their own projects, to help plan and evaluate programs, to work as teaching assistants and to assist with administrative activities. Most of these youth have been with the program for 2-3 years. "The kids have changed dramatically over the years; they have become so much more responsible and expansive," exclaims Pam Greene, director of development. "The young people and the community are directly involved in the direction of the program, and the artwork is of a very high quality. They trust us because we always follow through with projects."