[
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| KAREN
PRICE leads Saturday Hip-Hop dance class at Santa Fe County Youth
Development Program. Photo Credit: Julie Graber/The New Mexican. |
EL MUSEO CULTURAL CENTER is compatible with the overall mission of Outside In to provide the Arts to those who have limited access to them. El Museo is an excellent community performance space with over 30,000 square feet and a built-in theater, which is more than adequate in size to accommodate our weekly workshops. Having all of the workshops occur in one place enables us to maximize our time and easily facilitate the workshops and prepare for upcoming upcoming public performances.
In a year's time at least 500 youth will have a significant experience in these creative expression workshops, while in detention or following their discharge. We expect 100 of these youth to continue to benefit in the aftercare program by attending the weekly workshops that will be offered once that they are released from detention. Through learning basic guitar they will not only gain the increased skill and self-esteem of mastering an instrument, but they will also learn songwriting and performance skills. In the dance worskhop, these young people learn through the popular musical genre of Hip-Hop. Karen insists that they get in touch with their own body language and learn to express themselves through the medium of dance. Young participants aoften disply a remarkeable transformation within the space of a one-hour session even within the confines and space of a correctional facility and feel empowered by learning a choreography that initially seemed insurmountable. Her only requirement is that they make an effort to learn, and not excuse themselves if a particular movement seems too difficult. In visual arts, they will gain skill and self-expression techniques through participation in the painting of mural panels, which will then be on display in the community and at Outside In sponsored special events.
We are witnessing astounding results with the longer-term students of our guitar class who in some cases have consistently attended classes for four years or more and are now becoming accomplished players, writing their own songs, performing in public and considering music as a career opportunity. More importantly, we have noticed a significant change in the attitude of these young people as a result of their empowerment and the means of creative expression that they have acquired.
We are expecting and planning for increasing performance opportunities for our students. Our aftercare guitar and dance students have been performing in public venues at opening receptions, ceremonies and special events. Most recently they performed at the Capitol Rotunda at an opening of a two-month exhibition featuring art from the youth in our mural workshop, which was a successful collaboration with the SITE Santa Fe Young Curators and other youth serving agencies, including the Española Drug Court.
The display of their artistic creations in the community not only boosts student’s self-esteem but also raises public awareness of their enormous creative potential. We recently held a concert at the detention center featuring our five most advanced guitar students. Their performance was remarkably professional and the audience of their fellow incarcerated youth was astonished by the polished skill of their guitar work. The students were then presented with Certificates of Excellence, which they gratefully received bursting with a profound sense of accomplishment.
We were recently given a donation to start a fund for new guitars that will be presented upon the release of those students who have excelled in the class. This will help to insure the continuity of their acquired skill as they return to the community.
By providing a vibrant series of workshops to both a youth population who are incarcerated and to those who have been released, we hope to effect a reduced recidivism rate. Furthermore, we strive to provide a safe educational environment for troubled youth to express themselves artistically, through learning to play a musical instrument or through movement or through visual arts and to participate in public performances and exhibits which present their creative output to the larger Santa Fe Community and beyond.
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