ARISING Workshops in the Arts for Youth

In the summer of 2009, A.R.I.S.I.N.G. launched its first program in Washington, D.C. for some two dozen high school age students. A dynamic group of artists led daily workshops in painting, singing, writing, performance poetry, photography, and dance, including the tango! The students – and their parents—raved about the program, and the ways in which it bolstered the young peoples’ skills, their self esteem and their enthusiasm for the arts.

A.R.I.S.I.N.G. is a program designed to serve a diverse group of high school students living in cities. It is premised on the notion that the arts can help transform the lives of young people while also improving the quality of life in the community. An arts program like this one can also help raise community awareness about complex urban issues like poverty, violence, drug use and homelessness. The arts are a great source of inspiration, hope, affirmation and pride, and offer a way of revitalizing community spirit while also developing individual talents of expression. The thinking here is that one inner city summer program will directly benefit not only the students it serves, but also, indirectly, the larger community in which th e students and their families live.

NIF logo The program was funded by a generous grant from the Neighborhood Investment Fund of the District of Columbia’s Deputy Mayor’s Office of Planning and Economic Development. Each of the students participating was awarded a stipend for their participation.