Current Projects
Seeds in Springs-Gardening Projects
Seeds in the Springs (SITS) is a youth-centered community based urban agriculture project in Sulpher Springs.
Adult Art Classes
PHOTOSHOP SUMMER CLASSES
August 13th - September 3rd, 2009
Thursdays 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
August 15th- September 5th, 2009
Saturdays 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
$135 PER PERSON
$35 LAB FEE
PRINTMAKING SUMMER CLASS
August 14th - September 4th, 2009
Fridays 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
$125 PER PERSON
$30 LAB FEE
COMMUNITY ART AND BUSINESS
Presently the partnerships with U.S.F. School of Art and Art History and HCC provide a steady source of volunteers in order to meet our educational needs. We need support to continue the student scholarships, tools, supplies and to partly fund our overseer/teacher for each business.
We serve between fifty and a hundred neighborhood children and youth per week, in our various classes. It is from the art classes at the City of Tampa North Tampa Recreation Center and service learning activities in the park that youth are recruited and move into art business. The accepted youth, currently enrolled, participate in all aspects of our job development programs, including accounting and public relations. Without this early training, even the most educated student is pre-disposed to failure during the first years of employment. We give critical survival skills for our youth.
To give them a diverse experience to youth and show them how they can maximize their potential in an organization. We use pay as an incentive and our youth are required to follow these program guidelines:
- Maintain good grades
- Stay out of trouble
- Participate in community service
- Regularly attend classes to develop skills
- Application of skills to a specific job
- Work on the job
Our incentive program is to pay our students a token amount for attending art classes, with an increase as they develop job skills and full pay for work on the job. For a given week, if these guidelines are not all fulfilled, they do not receive their scholarship money.
It is through this process that we:
- Designed and executed two 80' x 25' murals "You + Me = Community" and ”Exactly” at Rowlett Park with the help of the Hillsborough County Arts Council, USF School of Art And Art History and the City of Tampa Public Art Program. The students made their own presentation to the Neighborhood Association and met with enthusiastic approval.
- Designed a multiyear Community art project to increase community dialogue that includes a Sculptural Message Center, Parades and other means to have residents start talking with each other on issues the community thinks is important.
- Developing an Art business based on youth designs to be used on T-shirts, Fine Art Prints and Ceramic Plates.
Our short-term objectives and outcomes are:
- To increase enrollment in our art business program.
- To make significant moves towards financial responsibility, including contributions to their college fund.
- To have Youth increase their GPA to facilitate receiving college scholarships
- To discover the rewards of contributing to community good through service/ learning.
Our long-term objectives and outcomes are:
- To have the youth business, for the most part, become financially self-supporting.
- A high percentage of our graduates enrolled in college. We have made arrangements with Hillsborough Community College for our students to receive the help and financial support to attend and succeed.
Our programs have received a number of awards including, Community Design - Award of Excellence in Public Participation 2006 and 207from the Hillsborough County Planning Commission, ”Healthy Hero’s” Award from the Patel foundation, Award of Outstanding Achievement / Learning to Grow-Growing to Learn from the Mayors Beautification Program. Our work is rewarding and joyous for our successes, frustrating and discouraging when we lose a child but always worthwhile. We look forward to you joining us in changing and developing lives.