Source: http://art120.org/step-up-chattanooga-intern-loren-west-shares-her-art-120-story/p/2066373/Add/Tags/ContentID/5190584/ShowTags/education
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 01:09:52+00:00

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We are thrilled to announce that our recent cultural program has shared this international art form and the culture of Pakistan at seven events to date, reaching over 7,200 children and adults in the past six weeks. Be sure to look for us at the Mainx24 Parade on December 1st. A huge thanks to our friends in the Pakistan Community along with the Tennessee Arts Commission, Tennessee Valley Credit Union, The Creative Discovery Museum, ArtsBuild and The Chattanooga Children's Clinic for their support.
When children have the chance to learn about other cultures it deepens their understanding of the world, emboldens their sense of self and introduces them to the beauty of other cultures. Thirty-two schools in Hamilton County do not have a full time art program and until now, children in Hamilton County had to drive to Atlanta to view visual art from another country. Now, we have that opportunity and are poised to reach up to six schools this year but we need your help.
Every $150.00 tax deductible donation brings this interactive art and literacy program to a classroom in Hamilton County. Every $500 covers an entire grade level.
In September 2018, Art 120 and Creative Discovery Museum (CDM) partnered on a community art project with Haider Ali, CEO of Phool Patti, an art collective designed to bring the message of peace, love, harmony and respect across the globe through the traditional art of Pakistani Truck Painting. Mr. Ali is most known for his commissioned work with the Smithsonian Institute where he created an authentic Jingle Truck for their collection. While in Chattanooga, Mr. Ali transformed our school outreach truck into a traveling piece of art.
Coming Soon to a School Near You!
Ever see a robot paint? Now you can! Thanks to support from The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Art 120 has some exciting new programs coming to schools this fall. Art 120, Red Bank Elementary Librarian, Cristol Kapp and Maker Ed worked together to test a variety of STEM equipment and develop arts-based curriculum to foster learning by utilizing the elementary school students' creative side. In a county where thirty elementary schools do not have an art program, it is necessary to provide curriculum that addresses this need while preparing students for the future. Art 120's mission is to use art as a catalyst to, "Engage, Teach and Inspire".
As part of this program, our curriculum will be made available to ALL Hamilton County teachers on this website, beginning August 6th. We will also include the cost of materials and our experiences from the equipment we tested to help schools make smart choices about the STEM materials they choose to purchase for their schools.
Step-Up Chattanooga Intern, Loren West, shares her Art 120 Story!
Loren has just graduated from Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts and will soon be a student of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago this fall. She has always had a passion for art and mainly paints and draws, but is hoping to experiment with other mediums in college. She has also had the privilege to take art classes in Los Angeles during the Summer of 2016 and meet successful artists. Loren hopes her experience with Art 120 will help her choose what career path she wants to take when finished with college. Learn more about Loren on Art 120's About page!
"I know I want to pursue a career in the arts, maybe go into the fine arts, or become an illustrator, I’m not exactly sure about which specific pathway I want to go on, but I want it to involve art. After this experience though, I think I’ve come closer to making a decision about which career path I want to take, which is probably art education. I’ve always been doing traditional art such as 2 dimensional paintings and drawings, but my experience with Art 120 pushed me out of my comfort zone when I worked learned new skills such as welding, and turned around and taught it to middle school aged kids.
I’ve been interested in art since I can remember, but I only thought of pursuing it as a career when I was probably fifteen after touring some art schools with my grandma. I went to Center for Creative Arts since sixth grade as an art major, and finally graduated last May. But throughout seven years of going to an art school learning how to paint and draw was just not enough for me. I never felt like I was given the resources at that school to bring out my full potential. I really wanted something that would push and guide me into the direction I wanted to go in. Although CCA was a good school and taught me well, I couldn’t help but feel like I was restricted. I needed something to expand my horizons. After my junior year in high school I decided to take summer classes at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. With the amazing teachers who pushed me and also took into consideration of what kind of art I wanted to make, I really felt like I blossomed as an artist. I still wanted to push myself even further, so I decided that working for Art 120 this summer would give me this challenge.
I discovered Art 120 through Step-up Chattanooga. I joined step-up because I needed something to occupy my time this summer and save up some money for myself when I go to college. Art 120 seemed like the perfect match that would also give me a challenge. Looking at the things Art 120 accomplished such as the art bikes and art cars really peaked my interest. The way how I saw that the artists could make something so strange out of an ordinary object.
I hoped to experience new ways or gain a new perspective of making art, and maybe teach some classes or help with a few projects, which I did. I was excited at the opportunity to teach for the urban art bike program since art education is one of the careers I’ve been looking into. I was hoping this program would help me decide which direction I want my art career to go to, and after this experience I’m leaning more towards art education. It was so much fun and interesting to see kids take on new skills that could help them in their future and how they enjoyed what they learned. The program seemed like one that would challenge me, because not only did I have to learn how to weld, I had to turn around and teach it. I couldn’t wait to see something good come out of it.
When I was teaching for the urban art bike program, watching the kids come up with designs from the top of their head reminded me that when coming up with an idea to make a work of art, that the idea doesn’t have to be perfect at first. The way that the kids would work freely from the heart without overthinking the project was something I latched onto and is something I’ll take to my solo projects. Collaborating with the kids has given me a new way of looking at creating something new. I got the opportunity to meet other artists in the community when working in the Painted Story gallery, allowing me to see dozens of new perspectives of art from all different walks of life. I loved that the paintings were hung low enough for a child’s eye-level so the children could learn to appreciate art a young age. I know that the purpose of this gallery worked because I saw so many wide eyed kids come in and really look at the artwork. I remember one kid loved the art so much he wanted to buy some prints and hang them in his room. I could tell that programs like these left a positive impact on the community because of how much people enjoyed it and the knowledge and skills younger people have gotten out of these things.
I’m grateful that I learned skills that I probably wouldn’t have learned anywhere else. I got hands on experience on teaching kids who are passionate about art. I only wish I got to spend more time on projects like these with Art 120. Overall, it was a good experience!"
We are SO grateful for the support from the community since the devastating fire on Thanksgiving Day to our shop. Thanks to the support of the community, OCI, and the Edney Innovation Center, and The Bethlehem Center, we have been very fortunate to continue our programs uninterrupted through the school year. This allowed us to provide mentorship and curriculum development for Howard’s Career Technical Education classes, partner with Red Bank Elementary School to develop Hamilton County’s first K-5th grade maker space, and bring art programming to primary grade students at Woodmore, Bess T. Shepherd, Barger, and Red Bank as well as the art program at The Howard School.
Now that the school is over, we have a HUGE need to get the Urban Art Bike Program back on its feet. Our friends at Glass House Collective want us back in the community to give twelve amazing kids the chance to design, create, weld, and make something amazing for their community. We are outfitting our enclosed trailer to become our mobile welding classroom. This will eliminate location as a barrier to our kids and help us grow this program year round. Our welders have been fixed and are ready to go but we need supplies and funds to cover costs to get our program ready for teachers!
Art 120 is partnering with The Bethlehem Center, and local artist Christina Thongnopnua, to bring an ALL NEW traveling art exhibition for children to Chattanooga, TN! Painted Story Children's Gallery will be an unique experience for the community and for local artists that want to be a featured artist in the Gallery, or work with us in other ways like teaching workshops or hosting the gallery in their studio space. If you would like to host Painted Story at your organization, at an event, or become involved as an artist or volunteer, please email edu@art120.org or paintedstoryart@gmail.com!
We look forward to working with you, Chattanooga, on bringing a truly child-centric program to you! Email Hannah Hahn at edu@art120.org or paintedstoryart@gmail.com if you're interested in applying to volunteer with or hosting the exhibition!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! The website is coming soon!
Follow The Bethlehem Center, too!
Stage Genies at Picnic in the Passageways on 5.19.17!
Come be serenaded by Dan Mailman, the Studio MindStride Stage Genies extraordinaire at Picnic in the Passageways on May 19, 2017! Find out more about our collaborative Passageways project with Stage Genies, where we partnered with the Stargaze installation, River City Company, the HIVE, Gigabit Mozilla Learning, and the Mozilla Foundation to bring musical computer programming opportunities to students in Chattanooga, TN. Special thanks to our partners and volunteers who help make this artistic endeavor successful! If you'd like to take a class with or teach tech with Dan, please email edu@art120.org! P.S. Here's a map of the Passageways exhibits (#4 is great)!
Public Education Foundation's STEP-UP Program is providing local Hamilton County students with an opportunity to work with the Art 120 team as PAID interns for the Summer of 2017!
STUDENTS: A personal essay describing the applicant's reason for applying and eligibility, a professional looking photograph of the applicant, and time to complete the application online in one sitting will be necessary in a successful application submission. Students must have their application submitted BEFORE 5:00pm on February 21, 2017.
Project Manager: The intern’s duties will include volunteer recruitment and management, task timeline and delegation, and collecting, analyzing, and presenting program data outcomes.
Networking and Marketing Manager: The intern will determine organizational partnerships that will benefit the programs and Art 120’s opportunities. They will inform social media marketing and newsletter outline that will help appeal to donors, volunteers, and community members.
Curriculum Consultant: The intern will help the Art 120 team with teaching, improving, and tracking summer curriculum, as well as developing Fall 2017 programs based on their research.
Artisan Assistant: The intern will perform tasks applicable to the artistic workshops that will be taking place in the Summer of 2017, from assisting professional artisans in creating and maintaining artwork, to facilitating maker education and professional development workshops.
STE(A)M Education Assistant: The intern will perform tasks that will result in their understanding of basic computer science principles and Raspberry Python coding language, as well as a role in the research and development of STE(A)M-based learning program initiatives.
Painting With A Twist's #PaintingWithAPurpose Fundraiser for Art 120 on January 14, 2017!
Apply to be an Art 120 STEM Education Intern through UTC!
Python, Ballet, Mozilla, and Pi - Oh My!

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