SINCE
ITS INCEPTION, Outside In has presented over
2,000 performance events and workshops for audiences, which
include people of every age, ethnicity, and physical, mental and social
disability. People served by Outside In programs are for the most part
low-income and people of color, who are disproportionately represented
especially in correctional facilities. We present programs for
the frail and elderly confined to convalescent and nursing homes, people
with psychiatric and physical disabilities, the developmentally impaired,
the homeless, those in drug rehabilitation programs, inmates of correctional
institutions (especially incarcerated juveniles).
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| MICHAEL FRANTI of Spearhead shown here in a dynamic performance for mostly Native American juvenile offenders at the Santa Fe County Juvenile Detention Center. Photo Credit: Julie Graber/Santa Fe New Mexican |
Continuing community support has helped this program to expand dramatically from 84 events in 1996 to our present average of 500 events per year, which includes over 350 arts educational workshops as part of our Youth With Promise program. The dramatic results of even a modest performance, often in grim places, cannot be exaggerated. Music and the performing arts have the power to uplift the human spirit and relieve both psychological suffering and the boredom that people can experience in such situations.
Throughout these past eight years we have had the help and participation of hundreds of performing artists, all who have welcomed and been gratified by this opportunity to offer community service. Our cumulative experience helps us to identify the appropriate artists that are best suited to make a difference in a presentation to a particular audience, whether it be seniors, youth, the homeless, those with special needs or the incarcerated. Many have come forward with the passion to work with these audiences and have even donated their services. However, from the beginning we have always strongly felt that artists need and deserve payment for their services. This has insured the success and consistent professional quality of our events as it enables us to employ the most effective presenters available.
Ever since the founding of Outside In, growing requests for performances and presentations especially directed toward youth has indicated a tremendous need. The development of our Youth With Promise program marked a new dimension of weekly educational workshops for high-risk youth. This resulted from the realization that a continuous workshop could have a more far-reaching and sustained impact on these troubled youngsters than a one time performance or presentation.
MAJOR
FUNDING BY:
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