Community Arts
ACHF Arts Access
REACH will provide each participant to experience a different form of emotional expression and communication. In order to accomplish this experience all the participants will work towards three goals: each artist will complete a warm up activity in the beginning of each session; each artist will create one piece of art they are proud of and willing to share with the group; and each participant will complete a piece of art to the best of their ability to be displayed in the December art exhibit that represents themselves and their Art Abilities experience. The criteria for measuring success will include each participant being able to produce at least one piece of art that they are willing to speak about at one of the six weeks and show a piece of art during the December Art Exhibit. To evaluate the program, the participants will be given an evaluation in the method that best meets the client's needs at the end of the six weeks (survey, a question and answer session where the group participates, or private conversation with the project personnel). Surveys will also be given to spectators of the Art Exhibit.
REACH’s goal was to have individuals with disabilities experience a different form of emotional expression and communication, which Art Abilities accomplished in multiple ways. First, every participant completed a warm-up activity at the beginning of each session. Participants executed a wide variety of warm-up activities, with each activity challenging the participant’s imagination and creativity. Participants of Art Abilities were surveyed to see what warm-up activity was their favorite. Each survey response had a different activity listed, demonstrating that each activity offered something fun and challenging. Second, every participant was given the task to create one piece of art in which they were most proud and would be willing to share to the rest of the group. Again, participants were surveyed to determine which art project they completed in which they were most proud and would be willing to share with other participants. Similar to the responses regarding the warm-up activities, each survey response had a different project listed. This validates the uniqueness of each of the art projects that were offered during Art Abilities and also reflects how each project was tailored so that regardless of artistic ability, all participants could enjoy and complete the projects. Third, participants were challenged to complete a piece of art to the best of their ability to be displayed in the art exhibit. A large number of artists expressed interest in attending the exhibit. Unfortunately, no artists could attend due to scheduling conflicts. Ms. Wright did attend however and modeled a few of the art projects and explained what Art Abilities was to people we support, staff, and community members. Lastly, REACH surveyed the participants to see if there is anything they would change about the Art Abilities program. Over half of the participants stated that there is nothing they would change about the program. The rest of the participants expressed that they would like more projects that spanned multiple sessions so as not to rush to finish the project, which could be achieved by way of offering more sessions. The feedback provided by the participants was overwhelmingly positive and demonstrates that Art Abilities allowed artists to (1) explore multiple artistic areas of interest, (2) challenge themselves in a fun and supporting environment, and (3) learn new and exciting ways to express themselves and communicate with others. At the conclusion of Art Abilities, the community served was the same as the original intended audience. Art Abilities served individuals ages thirteen years and older with developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, brain injury, severe learning disabilities, and emotional or behavioral disorders. The participants of Art Abilities lived in the Western and Northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities. The outreach efforts and publication through the REACH newsletter was instrumental in reaching the intended community Art Abilities was created to serve. The printed REACH Reader newsletter is mailed out to 3,485 individuals, and an additional 918 individuals receive our newsletter via email. We also dedicated some social media attention to our free Art Abilities program, and that message got out to our 1,128 Social Media followers (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube). Additionally REACH staff attended local transition fairs, resource fairs, and disability provider events to promote the program which resulted in our highest program registration yet. With limited opportunity for individuals with developmental disabilities to access quality art programming, outreach was necessary to have diverse artists attend the group. The artistic abilities of the participants were also diverse. There were beginner artists who came to the program to try something new, and there were artists who were more experienced. The Art Abilities program was offered at no cost. This allowed participants with financial constraints to participate in the program. People with disabilities on average have a lower socioeconomic status in order for them to maintain financial assistance. By having the program completely free to the participants, REACH was able to make Art Abilities accessible to all who wanted to participate. On the survey, 100% of the participants expressed that they would like to participate in the program multiple times a year. Additionally, 75% of the participants stated they were “Very Satisfied” with the program and 25% stated they were “Satisfied.” Participant’s family members calling and asking when Art Abilities will be offered again further reinforced the responses on the survey.
Other, local or private