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| AHN INTERVIEW:
Shifra Teitelbaum, Director of youTHink
"Art engages us through a different door than the written or spoken word. It helps us to see and envision contemporary issues in more open, less proscribed ways, which also fosters more creative problem solving." - Shifra Teitelbaum
 Based in Los Angeles and San Francisco, youTHink is a nonprofit organization that offers educational art programs in public schools, engaging students in contemporary issues and civic action through art. Most sessions begin by showing students large-scale images of art that trigger discussions on social themes. For example, they might show the Statue of Liberty and ask what does this artwork represent? Is its message applicable today? What common experiences do new immigrants share? The students then learn to create opinion art, write accompanying commentary and make oral presentations about their projects and viewpoints. Through these programs, youTHink motivates students to think, form their own opinions, express their views, and make a difference in their communities.
Danny Hobson, Arts and Healing Network: What role can art plays in the process of helping kids to think critically about social issues affecting their communities and the world?.
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 Shifra Teitelbaum: Art engages us through a different door than the written or spoken word. It helps us to see and envision contemporary issues in more open, less proscribed ways, which also fosters more creative problem solving. Art also enables us to think and communicate differently than if we were simply discussing or debating social issues.
Additionally, not everyone learns in the same ways. School is so often focused on the written and spoken word, that students who are more visual learners and thinkers, or students who are learning English as a second language, can often feel left behind, and may feel like they are at a disadvantage in communicating their rich and complex thoughts. In some small way, youTHink is an attempt to help level the playing field, and to provide these and other students an opportunity to participate and contribute their strengths to the discourse. It also encourages students who donŐt feel strong or experienced in this medium to stretch these muscles.
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Danny: What has been the impact on kids who have participated in youTHink?
Road to the Cure
by Jefferey
Martin Luther King Middle School
"My project shows a road
symbolizing our goals to find the
cure for cancer and other diseases
like AIDS. The wings symbolize freedom that all patients need
and want when they try to
be free of the disease."
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Shifra: We affect students and teachers in so many ways. Teachers are often amazed at the active participation of students who have never spoken in class before, or been engaged in the curriculum. Students repeatedly express their surprise at being asked their opinion, at being taken seriously, and at being told that they can make a difference. Through their participation in youTHink lessons, students often take the risk to use their art and their voices to speak directly to their classmates, about issues that they care deeply about, and that are very personal to them, like being bullied at school, or their motherŐs battle with cancer.
Danny: Has the current political climate affected the work of youTHink?
Shifra: We live in a very media rich culture. Students are constantly exposed to multiple media, getting information, or fragments of information about a lot of difficult things that are happening in the world today. Often, they do not have an outlet to fully explore or understand these issues that many believe they are too young to deal with, but that they hear about and see images of, nonetheless. Students have survived living in a culture that has seen the attacks of September 11, a war in Iraq, including graphic abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners by US military personnel. youTHink provides an opportunity for students to make meaning of what they have been hearing about and seeing, to try to get more information, to better shape their questions and their views, and to be heard.
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Danny: What excites you most right now about youTHink?
Shifra: I am moved by the impact of our work on students, and by the specific ways that students are touched and really open up in the process. I am also excited by the range of innovative programs that we continue to develop to meet the needs of students and teachers. These include programs that foster leadership in fun ways, engage students in the legislative process in creative ways, and are beginning to incorporate music as another medium for social change.
In terms of my own job responsibilities, lately I am working more on building relationships with community members to cultivate support for our work. I am meeting some wonderful people, learning a lot, and finding it a whole new kind of creative outlet.
Danny: How do you sustain your work - financially, creatively, emotionally...?
Censorship
by Cein
Truckee High School
"This project is addressing the issue
of censorship. Hands covering eyes
and mouth represent people's
repressed ideas."
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Shifra: We were launched with funding from the state of California. The recent loss of state funding has been a challenge. To succeed financially, we have had to become more creative, resourceful and diversified so these (financial and creative sustainability) go hand in hand. We are always looking for partners, and we have generated some creative win-win kinds of partnerships that are helping to sustain us financially. We offer corporate training and professional development services on a fee-for-service basis, focusing on diversity, leadership development, communication, and team-building.
Emotionally, it feels like a real gift to have a job that enables me to know I am making a contribution, making a difference in a troubled world, particularly to people (mostly youth), who are so often under-served. It helps me to remember that on the days when the going gets toughÉ Also, I do a lot of art myself, which is incredibly sustaining for my own spirit.
Danny: What advice do you have for others wishing to use art to make positive change happen in our world?
Shifra: ItŐs really important work. It taps into people in all sorts of ways that donŐt happen if we simply rely on verbal efforts to make change. ItŐs really deep and replenishing in many ways. ItŐs hard work though; you have to spend a lot of energy selling the importance of art in todayŐs bottom-line oriented culture. I find it really important to focus on the forest, the trees and each leaf, and not to forget any one of these in the service of another, since their interconnection is critical. Lastly, connect. Collaborations, sustaining collegial relationships, any connections, personal or professional, that you have and can cultivate, will help you do this work over the long haul, which is how we have to see this journey.
For more information about youTHink, please contact Shifra at shifra@youthink.org or visit their web site at http://www.sfcamerawork.org/mentoring.html
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FEATURED BOOK
Youth Arts Handbook: Arts Programming for Youth at Risk
A Free E-Book from Americans for the Arts
"I liked sending a messageÉI learned that I can stick with things. I learned that I can do things I don't normally do. I've started doing more. It wasn't perfect, but I did a good job. Something that I finished paid off. It looked good when it was done. We all did it as a team...I couldn't have done it without them." -comments made by a youth participant
"Young people who are involved in making something beautiful today are less likely to turn to acts of violence and destruction tomorrow. The artsÉprovide opportunities for youth from all backgrounds to do something positive and creative with their talents and their time. We all need to support the arts. In doing so, we are telling America's youth that we believe and value what they can be." -Janet Reno, former Attorney General, US Department of Justice
This e-book is an essential resource for anyone wishing to start or improve upon an arts program for at risk youth including how to plan, implement and evaluate such a program. The four chapters detail the main tasks involved in starting youth arts programs - program planning, team training, evaluation, and costs.resources and advocacy. The appendices offer a wealth of information from checklists for planning public events to field trip guidance, necessary forms, evaluation tools, and more. All the information is presented in a very clear, logical format. Because this resource is the product of several organizations collaborating from diverse spots in the US, it offers a comprehensive overview of what works, what doesn't work, and what can work even better.
The Youth Arts Handbook has 217 pages and was produced by the YouthARTS Development Project, a collaborative effort of the Regional Arts & Culture Council of Portland, OR; the San Antonio Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs in Texas; the Fulton County Arts Council in Georgia; and Americans for the Arts in Washington DC. Originally produced as a book with a CD and Video, the Youth Arts Handbook is now available as a free pdf file download from the American for the Arts web site at http://www.americansforthearts.org/youtharts/download.asp
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FEATURED LINK
Youth Speaks
www.youthspeaks.org
 Youth Speaks is the premier youth poetry, spoken word, and creative writing program in the country. Founded in San Francisco in 1996, Youth Speaks has helped spark the next generation of poets and writers lighting up stages and pages in all corners of the land.
Youth Speaks is building the next generation of leaders through the written and spoken word. Their innovative programs nurture and develop the youth voice and promote positive social dialogue accross boundaries of age, race, class, gender, culture and sexual orientation. They encourage youth to find their own avenues toward creative self-expression, and embrace the collaborative nature of group dynamics and peer-to-peer education. By coupling public performance and publication opportunities with educational workshops, mentoring programs, and cooperative learning, Youth Speaks encourages active literacy, honest writing, and critical thought.
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READERS RESPOND
Please send your thoughts and feedback on this month's news page to ahn@artheals.org. We would love to hear from you.
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