Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG)
1255 S. Wabash AvenueChicagoIL60605312-427-2724312-427-3413

Program: Youth Training Year Started: 1991 Focus: Visual Arts Youth Served: 75 Ages: 14-18 Budget: $170,000 Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG) has a summer employment program that guides youth with paints and brushes to create permanent murals in low-income communities. CPAG co-sponsors the program with social service agencies that identify the teens for participation and provide them with counseling and other services as part of the project. Paid through the Job Training Partnership Act, youth work in small groups with two to four artists who help them design and execute public art projects suited to specific sites. During the 8-week projects, teams work 25 hours a week to create wall and canvas murals, concrete sculptures and mosaics. The program helps integrate youth into the larger community and into discourse with adults. "Young people in the program are learning creative problem-solving skills and are developing transferable work skills," says Executive Director Jon Pounds. "They are accomplishing something they never thought they could and, as a result, are gaining a new understanding of themselves and their capabilities." The commitment of the artists to help youth develop life skills, as well as arts skills, is critical to the program. As tensions arise in the group, the artists work with the youth to find ways to resolve issues. Chicago Public Art Group also works in schools, restores public art, conducts mural tours and develops intergenerational mural projects.