Young people work 30 hours a week for 7 weeks during the summer in groups of 10 under the direction of professional artists who are as culturally diverse as the Tucson area itself. Counselors meet with each group once a week to help prevent and resolve conflicts.
Field trips provide information on career options associated with the hands-on skills being learned.
Completed projects include mosaic tiles for streets, exterior and interior murals, video productions, public education exhibitions, and computer animation projects. These projects provide an educational benefit to the young artists. When the youth build a public art piece and present it to the community, math, science, and language skills become concrete, not abstract, skills. Some kids who participate for consecutive summers become program assistants.