Burlington City Arts (BCA) is hosting an art show at the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington from April 4- 29 that will feature a variety of work produced by youth in the BCA’s "Mentor Arts" art mentoring program
Watch out, Warhol
The BCA art mentoring program includes both group mentoring and a pair program that places individual mentors and students together. This particular show will feature work from the group mentoring class.
The class consists of about 20 middle school students from Edmunds Middle School in Burlington, mentored by both students from Champlain College and employees of JDK, a design company based in Burlington. They meet together once a week to work on a variety of different arts, including printmaking, drawing and clay. The majority of the Champlain students are multimedia and graphic design majors.
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The show is located on the second floor of the BCA Firehouse Center for the Arts on Church Street in Burlington. (Photo by Abby Robitaille) |
The show will be celebration of the work they do, says Melissa Stiebert, community programs coordinator at BCA. BCA wants to use the artwork to build connections between people.
The theme of the art show is “Pop Art,” which came from their idea to use “pop foods” such as Pop-Tarts and Pop Rocks in the opening. This also plays off of the concept of pop art as a form of contemporary art, Stiebert says.
The work involved is mostly art done by the students, but there are also a few pieces by mentors. Some of the work will also feature collages done in group sessions as get-to-know-you projects, she says, noting that a viewer won’t be able to tell the difference in the show.
A mutual passion for art
An art mentor differs only slightly from a regular mentor, Stiebert says. The main difference is that art is used in all of their central activities.
“We work on focusing on art and [the children and mentor’s] mutual passion for art to build on their relationship. Art has had a really meaningful part in their lives,” she says. “They all have the resources of City Arts behind what they want to do.”
The program began about five years ago, and while Champlain students and JDK employees mentor the group programs, the community pairs program is open to all members of the community. The pairs program involves one adult and one youth who meet once a week.
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The art is interspersed with photos of children working with their mentors. (Photo by Abby Robitaille) |
The children paired with mentors are always referred to BCA.
“Sometimes parents will hear about it, or kids will and refer themselves, sometimes a teacher will refer the student,” Stiebert says.
The students are welcome to participate in classes at the gallery. They’re also able to be involved in summer camps. This has no cost for the students because the gallery is extremely generous with their scholarships, Stiebert says.
“We’re looking for youth who have a passion to the arts and wouldn’t necessarily have access to these materials or experiences otherwise,” she says.
Coby Brownell, 37, has been an art mentor for nearly four years at BCA. He chooses to participate in the mentoring program not only because of his interest in art, but because of the opportunities it gives to the kids, he says.
“The energy kids have and what they are able to come up with is amazing,” Brownell says.
He also believes a mentor is important for them to have.
“Sometimes parents are really busy and don’t have the extra time for activities such as this one,” he says. “It’s good for them to have another positive role model in their lives.”
The mentoring program is also especially important because of the role it plays in the kids’ development, Brownell says.
“It gives them the opportunity to be creative and express themselves and open up. It gives them the ability to become better communicators,” he says. “It helps them become more comfortable with who they are and also make new friendships in the process.”
Making the arts accessible
Burlington City Arts has been in downtown Burlington for nearly 26 years. According to their Web site, their vision is to “fuse a dynamic relationship between the arts and community, to nurture creativity and imagination, and to ignite a passion for learning through the arts.”
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Works in the show went beyond pencils and paper, such as this work done using etched paint on glass situated in a window of the gallery. (Photo by Abby Robitaille) |
BCA offers their studio to St. Michael’s for classes as well.
Senior Megan Conway participated in the pottery class that is part of the St. Michael’s art curriculum which is held at BCA. The use of the space is beneficial to the school, she says.
“It was fun because it’s a class that we don’t offer on campus so it’s good to be able to go,” she says. “Just being downtown and being in the Burlington atmosphere was nice. Also meeting people who really enjoy what they do and do it professionally was interesting.”
Conway enjoyed the ability to retreat from campus and thinks that BCA is extremely generous for letting St. Mike’s use their resources.
BCA is open to all community members including St. Michael‘s students.. They can be involved with the gallery by taking a class, becoming a member of the studio, or becoming a volunteer.
“Our mission is to make arts accessible to all,” Stiebert says.