Spotlight On: Neighborhood Studios
This week officially kicks-off the Arts Council’s Neighborhood Studios, a six-week arts education apprenticeship program, for 2012! For the next 5 weeks, we will be putting the “Spotlight On” one studio a week to provide an exclusive, insider look at what makes each studio special and unique.
But before we dive into rehearsal studios and gallery spaces, some of you might be thinking: what actually…is Neighborhood Studios? To give you a quick idea, Neighborhood Studios provides teens within Greater Hartford an opportunity to explore careers in the arts through six-week arts education apprenticeships. During this tenure, teens not only receive hands-on instruction from master teaching artists in the arts fields of their passions, but also engage in career skills training workshops at the Hartford Public Library and gain a weekly stipend for their time. The program really promotes both artistic and professional growth in a truly unique summer experience for teens, which all culminates with “Studio Showcases” of public exhibitions and performances of their work at the end of the program.
When asked about Neighborhood Studios, our CEO Cathy Malloy answered, “In today’s competitive times, the Neighborhood Studios program helps students develop the skills they’ll need to succeed in the workplace not only in the arts, but any position.” She continued by saying, “Neighborhood Studios unifies the Arts Council’s commitment to providing quality education opportunities to residents of Greater Hartford with its resolve to show the importance of the arts in today’s business world and economy.”
This year, the Arts Council has partnered with 5 local arts organizations in Hartford to host 6 different studios in artistic fields including dance, theater, visual arts and music working toward the corresponding productions and themes:
- Triple Threat Teens: Advanced Theatre Studio at Hartford Children’s Theatre
- PRODUCTION: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Breakdancing Shakespeare at Hartford Stage
- PRODUCTION: Much Ado About Nothing (Plus: 1-Act Play TBD)
- “Eye on Video” Digital Film Production at Real Art Ways
- THEME: Contemporary Re-Interpretations of Seminal 1920s Films
- Youth Jazz Orchestra & Performing Dance Ensemble at Artists Collective
- THEME: The Colors of Love
- Snap! Photography Studio at The Amistad Center for Art & Culture
- THEME: Collective Memory
This list also matches the “Spotlight On” publication schedule, as well, so check back often for snapshots of Neighborhood Studios before the public exhibitions!
To learn more about each studio and for a schedule of studio showcases and performances, visit www.LetsGoArts.org/NeighborhoodStudios.
Furthermore, many thanks to Travelers, this year’s lead sponsor of Neighborhood Studios, Northeast Utilities Foundation, the contributing sponsor, and studio sponsors the Howard A. Fromson Foundation, the Elizabeth Carse Foundation and the Lincoln Financial Foundation. Additional support for Neighborhood Studios also comes from The United Way of Center and Northeastern CT, Alstom, Bob’s Discount Furniture, the NewAlliance Foundation, the Fisher Foundation and individuals to the Arts Council.
