Rural and Community Art Project Grant
Rural and Community Art Project Grant
"I Can See Myself" North Homes Youth Mural
Tara Makinen: former-Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Tammy Mattonen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Kris Nelson: artist, teacher; Roxann Berglund: musician; Bill Payne: Professor of Theater at the University of Minnesota-Duluth
Mary McReynolds: Executive Director, Lyric Center for the Arts; Roxann Berglund: musician; Tammy Mattonen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Bill Payne: Professor of Theater at the University of Minnesota-Duluth
ACHF Arts Access
"I Can See Myself" North Homes Youth Mural proposes to 1. Welcome youth entering the Itaskin Building and assist them and their families in seeing the program as a therapeutic, healing process. 2. Build capacity for creating a positive mindset by engaging youth in creating and communicating the mural images of growth, metamorphosis, and natural environment. 3. Rebrand the ITASKIN within the community to one of Psychiatric Rehabilitative Treatment Facility (PRTF) offering in-patient care of children within a residential setting. 4. Employ artists and residents in a real, summer arts program with service to community. Success will be determined by using reflective surveys throughout the process. Using artist statement questions, artists will coach residents to create their healing images and express themselves verbally. Teamwork will be modeled as Creativity Tank artists and North Homes staff engage residents in both conversation and visual expression of themselves. Information will be explored as artists and residents adjust images that may have more than one meaning in cultural, racial and social situations to ensure that positive images will be placed in the mural to enourage healing and growth. A Facebook questionnaire will be used to assess the public's perception about the building and its purpose prior to the project and upon completion. Ideally, North Homes staff will be able to observe and document positive results of the project throughout. Ideally, final artist statements will reflect growth and healing throughout the "I Can See Myself" project.
The mural is bright and colorful and welcomes visitors, staff, youth and their caregivers to the building, achieving the first of our goals. We met with youth in small groups to draw ideas that would speak to ideas of growth, change and environment. The idea of metamorphosis moved from butterfly to plants that grow. Growth took place. Youth struggled with revision and collaboration. They were able to conquer an idea of perfection and were startled to see an artist white out an area to begin again. After those initial "shocks", they understood they could try again! Some wanted an area that was exclusively theirs. Over time, youth were more comfortable with changes. Youth would sometimes start with details and become frustrated. We would show the process, frustration would leave and youth were calm again. The goal to help "re-brand" the North Homes Itaskin Center facility, may be harder to gauge. Initial results from the surveys North Homes sent to staff were positive.
Other,local or private