During my less-than-stellar freshman year of college, my mother and sister were both diagnosed with cancer within a few months of each other. It was devastating news. I ended up taking the following year off, both to get my head on straight and to help around the house during their treatments.

It was an extremely difficult time with many emotions that were hard to process – sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, etc. I found myself retreating to my bedroom on a daily basis, shutting the door, putting on one of my Grateful Dead bootlegs, and disappearing for hours into a painting. I had created my own artistic refuge with my easel, drawing table, stereo, artwork, posters, décor, music, etc. It became my world when the world outside was too overwhelming. I would re-emerge with a totally different outlook on life, with a sense of hope and joy. I felt good. It was the first time I realized the power of place; having a sacred space to go that’s dedicated to creating and engaging in the arts.

It was a very powerful experience that inspired the concept for A Reason To Survive (ARTS). Just as I had my bedroom to escape to everyday, I wanted to create a place for other youth facing their own pain to escape; an Arts Center that would allow youth to enter a different world, explore various art forms, find their own voice, and express themselves.

In the Wallace Foundation report “Something to Say: Success Principles for Afterschool Arts Programs from Urban Youth and Other Experts” they confirm the importance of place in Principal #3: “Arts Programs Take Place In Dedicated, Inspiring, Welcoming Spaces And Affirm the Value of Art and Artists”. In it they note: “Spaces matter. While arts programs have practical needs – ranging from floors appropriate for dance to storage for supplies – the spaces matter for symbolic and emotional reasons as well”.

Their research pointed to three key factors in achieving successful 3^rd places:

• Young people feel the space is theirs and it reflects their vision and values
• The place is immersive, positive, and affirming
• It is functional and dedicated to one or more art forms

It goes on to elaborate on each of these points and provides real world case studies of such exemplary programs as Say Si, Music & Youth Initiative, and Spy Hop to name a few. It’s a must read.

“School and home is where I keep secrets, ARTS is where I can let them all out”

- Stephanie G.

I love that quote from a few years ago by one of our student’s who is now an ARTS staff member. It really epitomizes the powerful role 3^rd places, and the people in them, play in having positive impact on students.

We strive to provide that experience to all our students at the ARTS Center; 20,000 sq. ft. of dedicated multi-disciplinary arts space consisting of 2 buildings located in the low-income community of National City, California. We partnered with the City in mid 2012 to move into what was once the City library that they had renovated into an Arts Center, but had no one to run it. We went from a modest 7,000 sq. ft. space to over 20,000 sq. ft. It was like moving from a condo into a mansion!

There’s a myth that you have to raise millions of dollars to create a beautiful environment. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Plus, the reality is, 90% of programs and organizations can’t pull that off. Although we raised some funds specific for the move and needed equipment, we made a choice not to launch a multi-million dollar capital campaign for the space. Since the renovations had been complete, all we had left was to create the “feel” of the space, the fun part! We wanted to create the space organically and artistically. We didn’t have a lot of money but we had a lot passionate artists and students who had time and talent. We had creativity and sweat equity in abundance.

The building was devoid of color and character when we moved in. Rather than buying expensive new furniture, fixtures, décor, and storage from a store or catalogs, we wanted to create as much of it with our own hands, seeing everything as an opportunity to create a work of art and celebrate the creativity of our students. Since the Center was re-purposed from the old library into an arts center, we also decided to make sure we re-purposed or up-cycled as much as possible. National City is a manufacturing, industrial, and Naval town – so it’s a great source for materials. This keeps costs extremely low and also re-enforces to our students our core value of infusing creativity in everything we do. Why buy a front reception desk when you can create one out of old pianos?!

Although including the students and spending time finding the right recycled materials to accomplish projects can make the process so much longer – it’s very powerful and necessary, as noted by the Wallace Foundations report. The process is just as important as the product.

Here are examples of the “before and after” of just the lobby and a hallway within the ARTS Center. Which place would you rather come to each day? The combined cost for both of these was about $250.

Hallway

 

Lobby

 

The ARTS Center is a continual work of art in progress. Just this past week, one of the classes decided to use the semester to redesign the media arts space. Students created a three-page survey, which they handed out to the ARTS community – staff, students, teachers, volunteers, and parents asking us about color choices, materials, themes, use of space, etc. I loved the fact that they were taking the lead and including as many stakeholders as possible. They will then create a design and budget and present it to everyone for approval. I look forward to watching the progress and the final result later this spring.

We are fortunate to have a 20,000 sq. ft. 3^rd space dedicated to arts for youth. But there’s no reason you can’t create your own dedicated art spaces within your school, YMCA, Boy’s & Girls Club, or other after-school site. All it takes is “buy-in” from the leadership, a space, creativity and the right people to make it happen. Stay tuned for my next blog about the critical role people play in creating the culture of a safe, inspirational, and welcoming environment. Without the people, the place is just a shell. Thanks for reading!