The Wisconsin Arts Board has awarded the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha a $6,000 grant to run teen arts programs that help us ensure that every teen member is exposed to, and has the opportunity to engage in a wide variety of arts-based activities that cover all three pillars of the arts which includes Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Applied Arts.. Along with the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha is committed to providing youth high-yield activities in the arts and further encouraging their artistic expression and identities by building connection with others in the community.
Youth performing arts programs can have a positive impact on our historically underserved youth. Not only can such programs enhance young people’s attitudes about themselves and their future, but the programs also can increase academic achievement and decrease delinquent behavior. Non-school teen arts education programs create spaces where teens can express the many facets of their growing identities. They can try on the hats of their personalities and learn from their peers. They learn who they want to be and how to be in a space free of the judgments. Art also allows teens to engage with their criticality and rebellious tendencies through a generative process and consequently experience achievement and confidence. Through making art, teens are asked to engage in constant decision-making. One must think through outcomes, make choices, and find new solutions when presented with an undesirable result. The transferability of skills like critical thinking, decision making, and creative problem solving are endless.
“The generosity of the Wisconsin Arts Board allows the Club to enhance the Teen Arts programs and explore new opportunities that directly impact our local youth,” said the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha CEO, Tara Panasewicz. “Our goal is to create equity and access to Arts programming. The tools, resources and best practices to support the Arts often overlap with high-quality youth development practices- these both contribute to a positive Club experience for all members. For example, our Arts programs and experiences help youth build skills by creating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment where they are challenged through stimulating activities that draw on their interests, use new materials and utilize existing materials in new ways.”
The Wisconsin Arts Board is a state agency which nurtures creativity, cultivates expression, promotes the arts, supports the arts in education, stimulates community and economic development and serves as a resource for people of every culture and heritage. To learn more about the Wisconsin Arts Board, please visit https://artsboard.wisconsin.gov/Pages/home.aspx.
