Mural Arts Program and Philly311 Bring Civic Engagement and Art Together for a Powerful Session of YEP

Last week, the Philly311 Youth Engagement Program hosted an amazing presentation at the Education Works after school program at Penn Treaty, facilitated by the Mural Arts Program.

Henry Lee, Teaching Artists, presents the Mural Arts Program to the YEP students.

Teaching Artist Henry Lee came to the program and talked to the kids about recognizing and practicing their talents. Henry spoke about the Gift Showcase where artists with all different talents come together to collaborate and perform their talents. He explained that, for him, being a part of the Mural Arts Youth Program was life changing and he encouraged the students to consider joining the program.

Henry performs for the students while they draw their art work.

After we all shared what we are passionate about and good at, we created a collage. Everyone drew a picture and then we ripped up the pictures and pasted them back together. Taking our individual artwork and then combining them to create something even greater than our own works of art.

The point of this arts and crafts project was to show that we can create something beautiful separately, but sometimes, by combining our skills, we can produce something bigger, better, and more beautiful than we imagined. The project was a lovely metaphor for community building and civic participation.

After we tear up the art each student made, we paste them on a poster board to create a collage of all of our work.

This session really got the kids attention. Everyone participated and seemed to really enjoy this presentation and art project. It was particularly special because we got to share our interests, get to know one another, and make something together.

We have arranged for presenters to speak on the topics the students expressed interest in during the first few sessions because we want to be responsive and relevant when working with these young people. Our goal is to engage the students in programs that foster civic participation and introduce the students to opportunities to be active and engaged in their government and their communities.

I love to see how this program continues to grow, evolve, take root with each session. Working with different partners and schools allows us to see how the program changes based on the context. So far, the program has been a great success and we cannot wait to see how this program will continue to develop as we host more sessions at this site and others.

As always, we must thank our terrific partners Education Works. We also want to say a special thank you to the Mural Arts Program, for all they do to make Philadelphia more beautiful every day and for presenting this tremendous session for YEP. We look forward to today’s presentation with the Philly Rising Collaborative on Thursday, October 29^th.

Stay tuned for more updates. Like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter for more updates about the Philly311 Youth Engagement Program. If you would like to participate or have any questions about the program, contact Gabriela Raczka at Gabriela.raczka@phila.gov.

The YEP participants and staff proudly display our final product.