Arts In Community

Arts in Service of Community

New Futures

Arts Corps partners with Southwest Youth & Family Services for their expanded learning program, New Futures.

This out-of-school support is provided at 4 affordable housing communities in South King County where students and their families live, work, and go to school. The program focuses on:

  1. academic support for students in grades 1- 12 to help build skills needed for school success, and typically includes literacy and math tutoring, homework help, English Language Learner (ELL) services;
  2. enrichment activities such as arts, STEM, outdoor recreation, and field trips that increase access to opportunities while promoting social-emotional learning;
  3. youth development activities in which youth take on leadership roles in program planning, community service, and tutoring; and
  4. family advocacy in which a dedicated Advocate works with families to meet their needs in areas such as translation, transportation, breaking down institutional barriers, and engaging in their children’s education.

As part of the program’s enrichment, Arts Corps offers 2 onsite arts classes per site every quarter during the school year, and 2-week intensive classes during the summer. The classes span a broad range of creative disciplines including dance, visual arts, theatre, music, and digital media arts, and they develop artistry, leadership, and other essential skills such as critical thinking, imagination, collaboration, creativity, and cultivate a growth mindset among youth participants.
The New Futures’ holistic, place-based model allows Arts Corps to nurture meaningful connections with young people and their families. The program is part of Schools Out Washington’s Best Start for Kids.

King County Youth Detention Center

Arts Corps provides weekly classes in graphic design, visual arts, dance, and spoken word at King County Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention – Juvenile Division at Clark Child & Family Justice Center (CCFJC) to youth in secure detention. The classes happen weekly for ages 11-17 for all levels of experience and ability, meeting the students where they’re at artistically, emotionally and developmentally. Through the student’s participation in Arts Corps classes the students develop critical thinking skills, increased focus, problem solving skills, and a deepened awareness of who they are and their capacity to learn.

Program Offerings
  • Graphic Design and Visual Arts: An interactive graphic design and creative youth class. Students explore different mediums through technology such as drawing, graffiti/muralism, acrylic & watercolor painting, stencil design, and digital art with iPads; utilizing different creative tools for emotional intelligence, decision making and thought process that can be applied to daily creative life. Youth will showcase their artwork and learn finance, business, and entrepreneurship skills throughout the process of building their creative self & artwork. This class is for all levels of ability. No experience is needed.
  • Hip Hop Dance, The Art of Movement & Spoken Word: Taught by Shakiah Danielson and Heather Harris: As a group, students get to explore and develop their creative expression through dance and spoken word. Hip hop is the peak of self-expression. In this fun and dynamic class, students will explore movement styles and self-expression through a warm-up, across the floor movements and dance combinations. Students will then get to deep dive into the art of movement! Students will explore the movement styles of Jazz, Afro-Brazilian, contemporary, lyrical, and improvisation. The class combines technique, rhythm, and expressing personal style. Exercises focus on increasing flexibility and strength, rhythm, movement isolations, and creating dance combinations as a group. The spoken word class will include artist inspiration through writing, interpretation of lyrics, and the exploration of rhymes, schemes, cadence, figures of speech, and overall execution of hip-hop lyrics. These classes and art styles are for all levels of ability. No experience is needed.

Teen Art Jam

Teen Art Jam is Arts Corps’ visual art, in-house open studio program. Teenagers 14 to 19 years old are welcomed into the Arts Corps office every second Friday of the month, 5:00-8:00pm. Students are welcomed to bring their own projects and ideas or can participate in an activity led by Teaching Artists. The activity will change from month to month. Art supplies and dinner are provided.

Our next Teen Art Jam is Friday, Nov. 14 led by Teaching Artist Atticus!
RSVP here: https://tfaforms.com/5104910

All City Choir

The Arts Corps All-City Youth Choir is a free, once-a-week, vocal training program from September – July, open to young people ages 14 – 25 across King County, WA. The program is led by esteemed musical profession and master teaching artist, Erica Merritt. Erica mentors youth artists in vocal strengthening, performance, increasing participants’ confidence, exposure to creative opportunity, and community building with youth from various communities.

Participants of all singing and vocal abilities meet every Friday, 4:30-6:30pm, at Washington Hall, Seattle’s historically African-American theater, building their vocal range by practicing and learning healthy, individualized varied vocal techniques, while also developing musicality through basic music theory, song selection, song interpretation with guidance from Erica. Students present their work through performances where they
practice stage presence and vocal projection.

Arts Corps All City Choir perform at Arts Corps events and fundraisers, as well as community events, and are connected to showcase opportunities within and outside of Arts Corps, increasing entrepreneurial opportunity through the arts.

The All City Youth Choir offers more than an afterschool activity, but an accessible intergenerational arts mentorship, and social-emotional learning support group for youth of various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.