Programs & Initiatives

All art outreach programs and initiatives are part of the Center for Visual Art (CVA), a division of Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Art Department. The CVA is working to provide opportunities to students, educators and community members to experience and learn through art. By building strong community partnerships with a diverse mix of constituents, including Metro students and alumni, the business community, public schools, and private foundations it is able to provide the general public with programs that change lives.

• Art Builds Communities (ABC)              | Youth Outreach Program, ages 6-12
• Community Art Project (CAP)               | Neighborhood Partnership Initiative
• Partners in Art for Life (PAL)                | Mentor Program, ages 15-19
• Technology, Art, and Graphics (TAG)    | Technology-focus workshops for teens

Art Builds Communities (ABC)
ABC provides disadvantaged youth with art workshops that offer access to memorable, interactive art experiences that expand life views and provide productive, after-school alternatives for children who would otherwise have little or no exposure to the arts.
                                                                                                      
ABC Partners for the 2011-2012 school year:

• The Bridge Project: Columbine
• The Bridge Project: South Lincoln
• Wifley Boys & Girls Club
• Cope Boys & Girls Club
• Girls Inc.
• Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation (CIHADF)
• Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR)

Partners in Art for Life (PAL): Teen Mentor Program

PAL is a program for youth that offers participants an opportunity to become role-models to younger children (ages 6-12) that participate in the Art Builds Communities (ABC) program. A limited number of youth (ages 15-19) will be selected as partners for the 2011-2012 PAL cohort. Applicants must be interested in becoming a mentor to younger children and should be passionate about pursuing a future in art. If selected as a partner youth will be expected to share their enthusiasm for art while helping ABC participants make their own artwork. Partners may also be asked to assist with organizing project materials and will be required to attend monthly training meetings. In exchange partners will receive an hourly stipend. Meet the PALS of the past.

Youth (ages 15-19) are invited to apply. Participation is limited.
Accepting Applications for the 2012-2013 teen cohort: September 1, 2012

Download PAL Application. Send completed applications by the deadline to CVA Education Outreach Coordinator, Ericka A. Baxter, ebaxter1@mscd.edu or fax (303) 294-5210.

Art Explorations: Student Tours & Workshops
AE, is the CVA’s tour program and is designed to enrich the lives and education of students (K-12). Tours are scheduled during the school-day and are led by CVA’s education outreach coordinator. The tours are designed to provide an art vocabulary and emphasize aesthetic concepts. Following the tour, students participate in a hands-on workshops related to the art medium, culture or theme of the exhibition. For additional information or to schedule a tour please contact Ericka at ebaxter1@mscd.edu.

Community Art Project (CAP)
CAP, a neighborhood partnership initiative that brings together a diverse array of civic organizations working together to promote new ways of seeing through art.
CAP partners for 2011-2012 include:

• ACE Community Challenge Charter school
• ARC
• ArtSonia
• Arts Street
• Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver
• Learning To Listen Guild
• The Bridge Project
• TRIO: Upward Bound
• VSA Colorado/Access Gallery

Art Sonia is the world’s largest online kid’s art museum.  Art Builds Communities (ABC) participants join thousands of other students from over 100 countries whose artwork is showcased on Art Sonia, www.artsonia.com.

Anyone can view the ABC gallery online at: www.artsonia.com/schools/Center24.

“Arts Street is a non-profit youth program in Denver that creates opportunities for the young people of Colorado. The opportunities provided are designed to foster the inspiration and education of these youth to become tomorrow's professionals and supporting the workforce needs.” For additional information, http://www.arts-street.org

Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver is a non-profit organization that provides young people ages 6-18 with a safe and positive place to spend their time after school and in the summer. Nine neighborhood Clubs and an 80-acre residential camp provide programs that help more than 10,000 youth achieve academic success, live healthy lifestyles, and develop good character and leadership skills. Clubs are strategically located in low-income neighborhoods and are accessible to all youth for an annual membership fee of just $2.  Since 1961, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver has been helping kids from tough neighborhoods in the metro Denver area stay out of trouble, stay in school and succeed in life. www.bgcmd.org

The Bridge Project offers “educational opportunities for children living in Denver's public housing neighborhoods so they graduate from high school and attend college or learn a trade.” www.du.edu/bridgeproject

The TRiO Upward Bound program is located at Metropolitan State College of Denver and is a federally funded program designed to assist low income and first generation college-bound high school students.
For more information visit, www.mscd.edu/~hsub

VSA arts of Colorado is creating a world where people with disabilities have the opportunity to learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.
To Learn more, http://accessgallery.org

For additional information contact CVA’s Education Outreach Coordinator, Ericka Baxter ebaxter1@mscd.edu.