The Arts Commission Presents the YAAW 2016 Program
Forty-five diverse teens from the Greater Toledo region have already been working hard as paid artists for five weeks of their summer as apprentices in the The Arts Commission’s Young Artists at Work (YAAW) program. The YAAW program is activated with several major projects this summer. The Main Branch of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library welcomes a second YAAW mural into their underground parking garage. 30 or more muraled park benches created in previous years have been repaired and conserved to continue enlivening the sidewalks of downtown Toledo. Additionally, original, hand-constructed wearable sculptures with accompanying choreographed movements made their first public appearance at the July 21st Art Loop. Additional live, public appearances at community and art events will be announced. The public is invited to attend the YAAW 2016 / Creatives Premiere on Wednesday, August 3rd, 5-7pm at the YAAW worksite, located at the University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts, 620 Grove Place. This event showcases the accomplishments of the program including original art to view and purchase, 5:30pm multi-media performance in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle Theatre, studio tours and more. The Arts Commission has presented the award-winning YAAW program since 1994. Student apprentices between the ages of 14 and 18 are selected in a competitive process for six weeks of employment as working artists, with the objective of providing an intensive arts experience that fosters artistic self-expression and a quality work ethic that can impact the youth and shape their adulthood. The program encourages expression, refinement, cross-cultural sharing and the exchange of ideas. As one 2016 YAAW apprentice, Emily Mata, explains: "It (YAAW) helps kids--young artists--gain confidence in what they can do. It can solidify art's place in their futures. It inspires them to keep creating." The opportunity provides exposure to the concept of art as a business, as well as the creation of public art for the greater Toledo community. This year’s participants will work under the mentorship of talented local artists and educators. Current YAAW Instructor, Luke Ellison, elaborates, “My involvement with the Young Artists At Work program has been, to date, the most inspirational and challenging endeavor of my professional career. The staff is phenomenal, bringing years of insight from a multitude of disciplines, and the young apprentices are just as diverse – ready to learn and show off their ever-growing artistic talent.” The Arts Commission is proud of the talented staff hired on to lead our teams of apprentices this summer. Instructors Ken Dushane and Caroline Jardine are leading one team of apprentices in creating the commissioned mural for the Toledo Lucas County Public Library. The largest artwork conservation effort to date in YAAW program history of over 30 muraled park benches is made possible by Instructor Luke Ellison and Assistant Instructor Nikka Geiermann. This team is also creating an installation for the Reflections Community Gallery at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium that will be on display for the remainder of the summer and part of fall. Finally, Instructor Merce Culp and Assistant Instructor Peter Koelsch along with hired clinicians Radiant City comprised of Akili Jackson, Ben Cohen, Yusuf Lateef and Bianca Marcia challenge the apprentices to further develop their self-expressive and collaborative abilities through a multi-discipline, multi-sensory exploration. These efforts will yield multiple wearable sculptures with associated choreographed movement elements to make public appearances in the future while also serving as the characters of a video based artwork expressing a new mythology for Toledo. Youth apprentices have been hired from 26 different schools including private, parochial, charter and public. Hired apprentices reside across the region, including East Toledo, North Toledo, South Toledo, West Toledo, Sylvania, Bowling Green, Ostego and Bedford, Michigan. The Arts Commission extends a heartfelt thank you to the University of Toledo’s Center for Visual Arts, located in the Frank Gehry Building attached to the Toledo Museum of Art, for providing a facility to host the program for a seventh year. The collaboration is part of a larger partnership with the University of Toledo’s College of Arts and Letters, the School of Visual and Performing Arts and the Department of Art. YAAW 2016 made possible with support from these generous sponsors and several others: The LaValley Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, Lucas County Jobs and Family Services, Toledo Community Foundation, City of Toledo Department of Neighborhoods and the Community Development Block Grant Program, Lucas County Empowerment Program of Pathways, Inc., Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Toledo Museum of Art, University of Toledo’s College of Arts and Letters, the School of Visual and Performing Arts & the Department of Art, Rudolph Libbe Group: Rudolph Libbe Inc. and GEM Inc., OmniSource, Scott and Margy Trumbull, Ms. Susan L. Conda, American Frame Corporation, Ms. Sarah Sobel-Poage and an anonymous donor. To learn more about the YAAW program, please visit www.theartscommission.org The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo is the longest-standing arts commission in the state of Ohio that develops and promotes the arts in the community, serving Northwest Ohio since 1959.
Press Release Contact Name: Michelle Carlson
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 419-254-ARTS (2787), ext. 15
Organization Name: The Arts Commission
Website or Link: www.theartscommission.org