Graffiti Art Programming

Ten years ago, an innovative and new project was undertaken to provide training to underrepresented youth of the inner city. It
was originally a six month program with a very narrow focus and a large group of participants. That pilot, and each of the
ensuing programs since, has provided continual feedback, statistics, information and data that have been used to fine tune the
program in order to offer the most comprehensive training curriculum possible as well as a solid, well thought out administrative
foundation to achieve the best results possible.

The gallery and its Urban Canvas Program have always been a grassroots approach to engaging underrepresented youth in
developing the tools necessary to overcome these multiple barriers and to provide an environment that is safe and tolerant of
these barriers, thereby allowing the youth to thrive on their own terms and to begin to develop and eventually self direct a plan to
improve their economic and social conditions. The Urban Canvas Program, in and of itself, is a life skills training program. The
program uses “art as the tool” (see mission statement) to deliver that training; enhanced art skills are merely the corollary
benefits of the program.

The purpose of the program continues to be to seek out 8-9 willing participants with some artistic talent, that are:
not currently enrolled in school
- unemployed
- experiencing difficulty in entering the workforce or
- in other ways challenged to find work (health issues, addictions, criminal involvement, lack of capacity to attend training or
employment on a regular basis, lack of resources to deal with any and all of these issues).

Upon completion of the program, each youth should have an idea of how they would like to proceed; whether that is continuing
with their education or moving into the workforce on a full or part time basis. The organization and its mentors are available for
as long as needed to assist these young people with their plan. Youth from the first program completed in 2000 are still
frequently found in the gallery as either contract artists on a specific project, using the space as their studio or as instructors for
the program itself or our after school workshop program.

After several years of training small groups of youth, a pool of active artists has emerged. Many of the youth that complete the
program find it difficult to continue on to jobs that require standardized work schedules. This is true of a great many “artists”.
With the growing number of youth completing the program it was becoming difficult to employ them within the gallery and its
liberal work environment. During the past year a comprehensive 5 year business plan for a “social enterprise” has been nearing
completion. Creating a network of retailers, wholesalers, corporate buyers and events at which large quantities of art could be
sold, along with plans for an onsight store, and a webstore will be the foundation of this artists’ social enterprise. Plans for a
second year employment apprenticeship are in the works.

The long-term impacts of the program are clear. Numerous youth have gone on to advanced education opportunities; others
have begun to earn the only income they have ever experienced; while others still have gone on to become mentors and
teachers through this program and others that the gallery runs. Most of the youth have received strong, stable support in their
personal lives dealing with all manner of personal issues and know that they can continue to receive that support even after they
have completed the program. All of these successes are key to bringing about long term, systemic change to lives that have
heretofore been rooted in poverty, neglect and bounded by an unforgiving workplace environment that is not suited to everyone.