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For more information on the work and mission of Living Arts, please refer to the organizational summary below.
Engagement in the Arts Propels Youth to Greatness
According to studies conducted by Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University and Americans for the Arts, young people who participate in the arts are:
- Four times more likely to stay in high school
- Twice as likely to avoid criminal behavior
- Better able to appropriately communicate anger
- Four times more likely to have been recognized for academic achievement
- Elected class office more than three times as often
Arts programs positively impact high-risk youth in very specific ways. The YouthArts Handbook, a study that explored three model arts programs in the northwest, suggests that quality arts programs can strengthen three protective factors for high-risk youth:
- Bolster young people’s self-perceptions and future outlook
- Increase academic performance
- Decrease delinquent behavior
Furthermore, the same study suggests that quality arts programs can:
- Help youth experience positive recognition and acknowledgment for achievement
- Promote bonding with adult role models
Creating with the Community
“Arts programs foster empathy, tolerance and cooperation among youth people; and arts practices that involve the collaboration of many people promote thriving, supportive communities.”
From “Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on Learning.”
Founded as Southwest Dance in 1999, the program initially offered four weekly classes and served 19 students. From there it grew into a multifaceted arts provider, anchored in dance education. Early in 2008 El Arte Alliance merged with Living Arts to serve as its arts-infused education division. Together, they have created a strong presence in Southwest Detroit, serving over 1,200 community members with quality arts and culture experiences.
At the heart of the Living Arts mission is the belief that the mastery of artistic skills should benefit individual creative pursuit and help to develop the broader community.
Today, the organization’s commitment to youth development and cultural enrichment significantly impacts southwest Detroit.
Living Arts is a community-based nonprofit, tax exempt, 501(c)(3) organization.
Living Arts is an award-winning organization which continues to focus on development of six critical life skills: decision making, communication, problem solving and critical thinking, collaboration, global understanding and diversity, and creativity.
Living Arts Program Portfolio
Southwest Dance is a studio-based program offering regular classes in ballet, tap, jazz, breakdance, hip hop, creative movement, modern, salsa and cumbia to ages three to adult.
El Arte – Arts-Infused Education: places artists in classrooms to co-plan and team teach lessons in which the arts are used as a vehicle in learning core subjects. For example, dancers can be used to teach language arts, and filmmakers can be used to bring social studies to life.
Workshop Series: Living Arts hosts a workshop series to make culturally specific art forms accessible to the community. The series includes instruction in traditional cultural dance forms (e.g., African, Irish, Flamenco, and Hawaiian) as well as in other arts practices.
Youth Performance Ensemble: Designed to offer advanced Southwest Dance students increased challenges with complex choreography and performance opportunities, the ensemble performs regularly at venues such as Marygrove College, Wayne State University, and Music Hall.
After-School Arts: Housed within the school setting, After-School Arts offers performing and visual arts classes between the hours of 3 – 6 p.m. when children are more likely to engage in at-risk behaviors. The program is designed to make the arts accessible and to enhance their educational experience.
Community Events: Living Arts places special importance on the annual Arts Showcase – a community-wide concert event designed to inspire Southwest Detroit through honoring and celebrating students in the dance programs. In addition, Living Arts now offers a spring Community Arts Night to celebrate other visual and performing arts.
Living Arts – A Partner in Building Community
While Living Arts initially emerged to provide dance instruction, the organization has evolved and today has a unique multidimensional mission based on the study of arts and cultural practice for the broader purpose of strengthening the greater community. Living Arts cooperates extensively with as many as 15 arts practitioners and other social service agencies, community development corporations, schools and churches for the greater health and wellbeing of the community. We believe this is our unique contribution to what is gradually becoming a real, vibrant, and recognized arts & culture district in Southwest Detroit.
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