Art's power to transform young lives is something that Kaila Piepkow says she could never get tired talking about. It's a phenomenon she's witnessed countless times as director of operations at
Doodles Academy, an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit championing access to high-quality holistic arts education for kids in grades K-5.
"Art is a critical tool for learning, expression, and emotional development that every child needs," she says. "We see our students develop the skills and confidence they need to not only thrive academically, but also socially and emotionally."
This has been the case for 11-year-old Swara Goyal, who participated in a Doodles Academy afterschool program last year. She says the most memorable thing she created was a picture of "a beach setting with a really colorful wave and then a dolphin jumping out."
"I really like the wave part. I think that was probably one of my favorite parts of making the actual entire piece," she says. "I'm really happy that I was able to make it. I feel very accomplished."
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Doug CoombeDoodles Academy past participant Swara Goyal holding a mug with her artwork that she was awarded.
Goyal shares that when Doodles Academy held a contest, her dolphin artwork was in the winners' circle. Her piece was displayed first at
Rocket Fizz in downtown Ann Arbor, and then at the
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. There it caught the attention of the museum's director of facilities, Gerry Diepenhorst, who ended up asking Piepkow if he could have it.
"He said, 'I've never been a person who's been into art, but that dolphin art piece really just inspires me,'" Piepkow recalls. "He framed it and has it in his living room now."
Goyal couldn't be prouder and is excited about taking part in future Doodle Academy offerings.
"It's a great program," she says. "The most important thing I learned is that art is just not one thing. There are many forms of art."
Different strokes for different folks
Doodles Academy was founded by Tempest NeuCollins, who was a teaching artist in Brooklyn, N.Y., before leaving in 2015 to start the nonprofit.
"She really saw the disparity between schools that had a lot of art funding and huge classrooms, and schools that had none," Piepkow says. "She created a small organization, but we're a scrappy organization and we're looking to make a big impact in Ann Arbor."
The bulk of the organization's work is direct programming. Doodles Academy partners with Ann Arbor Public Schools and its programs are offered through Ann Arbor Public Schools Rec and Ed. Doodles Academy also hosts summer camps and works with libraries and the Ann Arbor YMCA. Nationally, Doodles Academy helps the everyday classroom teacher integrate art into learning through the plentiful resources on the nonprofit's website.
Piepkow says Doodles Academy's mission is important, citing a government program called
Turnaround Arts that worked to get art in the lowest performing schools. Participating schools that invested in art programs saw an increase in math and reading proficiency. They also reported a decrease in behavioral problems and attendance issues.
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Doug CoombeDoodles Academy Director of Operations Kaila Piepkow.
"Art helps different learners learn critical thinking skills and complex topics in a different way," Piepkow says. "It's connected to literacy, it's connected to math, it's connected to science."
With this understanding, NeuCollins aligns Doodles Academy's content to common themes and subjects taught in the classroom. The material is engaging and designed to give kids the opportunity to reflect on themselves.
"We support a deeper understanding around what's taught in school through the artwork discussions," Piepkow says. "And we kind of take some of these more gray-area topics and skills and make them more tangible for the kids."
She explains that the approach is not product art, but process art – so a class of students wouldn't all be shown something and asked to replicate it.
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Doug CoombeKaila Piepkow and Swara Goyal at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.
"We're doing something right now that involves stick figure puppets, and there's a whole section about identity and your family story and working that into your puppet," Piepkow says. "So everyone's puppet looks different because everyone has a different family and a different story."
She shares that Doodles Academy is hoping to get more people of all ages excited about the nonprofit's vision on Jan. 24, when the organization will host
Art Lights the Night: A New Year Lantern Festival. The free, ticketed event at the
Leslie Science and Nature Center starts at 4:30 p.m. with festivities, a firepit, and food-for-purchase such as s'mores and hot cocoa.
A lantern walk will start at 6 p.m. Those who attended the academy's recent lantern workshops, or made a lantern at home by themselves, are encouraged to bring them to add to the night's illumination. Several popular local artists have been hard at work making their own lanterns for the event. They'll be using them to pre-light the forest trail for the littlest attendees.
"We had 100 tickets available originally and had to add another 50. There's still a big demand so we'll be adding yet another 50 tickets," Piepkow says. "I think that means we've been inspiring people and doing something right."
Jaishree Drepaul is a writer and editor based in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at jaishreeedit@gmail.com.
Photos by Doug Coombe.