ArtWell, a relatively unknown but extremely high-impact arts education organization, has been awarded a $100,000 grant to expand its Art of Growing Leaders curriculum, which will be offered in dozens of Philadelphia-area public schools. The grant came from
Impact100, a charitable group that funds programs reaching underserved populations.
Founded in 2001 by executive director and ordained minister
Susan Teegen-Case, ArtWell was launched in an effort to battle chronic community violence in the city through arts-oriented educational programs. The organization’s highly-regarded
Art of Growing Up curriculum was created eight years ago by program director Julia Terry, who had studied rites of passage traditions in Ghana when she was a study-abroad student.
During her research, Terry became intrigued by the fact that so many of the world’s cultures have traditions meant to guide young people through the transition from childhood to young adulthood. After joining Artwell, she created The Art of Growing Up as a means to expose Philadelphia’s students to the lessons a rite of passage tradition teaches. The semester-long program includes anti-violence curriculum, poetry and drama workshops, and visual arts classes.
"We've had the experience of schools wanting us to stay longer, and students wanting to do [the program] again," explains Terry. "But we've never had the funding to extend our relationships and deepen our impact."
Thanks to the Impact100 grant, the program will evolve into a year-long experience known as the Art of Growing Leaders. The expanded curriculum will give students an expansive definition of what it means to be a leader, "so that kids can identify all the possibilities for themselves to be leaders," says Terry.
According to Teegen-Case, community leaders in
Chester and in Camden, N.J., have also expressed interest in bringing the program to schools in their areas.
Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Susan Teegen-Case and Julia Terry, ArtWell