Teen Scene art program teaches kids, develops community and benefits businesses

Sometimes, there's kind of an adversarial relationship between art and business. It's a fine line professional artists have to walk: Money or creative vision? In schools, that clash is never clearer than when art and other fine arts programs get cut out of ever-shrinking budgets.

So, what's the best way to get past all of that? Teach kids not only how to produce amazing art, but at the same time, work in cooperation with local businesses to create public art that enriches the business and the whole community.

That's what the Teen Scene art program in Escanaba has been doing with its art projects in downtown businesses like Bobaloon's and the Record Rack.

Led by local artist Eddie Moritz, with backing from the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, the Teen Scene participants interview business owners about what type of art would suit their location, then design, draft and execute their projects.

"Originally, the notion of Teen Scene was that we wanted to bring that young population here to the arts center," says Pasqua Warstler, gallery and education director at Bonifas. "We had an open studio, and wanted to bring them in contact with some of our local artists, to work side-by-side."

The idea was that students could be mentored by artists, artists would be inspired by the kids, and local businesses would be the beneficiaries of the finished projects. The program ended up not at the Bonifas Fine Arts Center, but at the middle school, when logistics made that easier, and Warstler says the school was happy to contribute to what has become a kind of service-learning project for its students.

"Arts are the best vehicle for learning--they're personal, they're experiential, and they're flexible," she says.

With the use of art and computer rooms at the school, the Teen Scene students create the project from start to finish, with support and direction from Moritz. They learn everything: how to research a project, client interviews, even purchasing, pricing and public relations.

"We like to think of this as kid-driven, sort of a Montessori approach," says Warstler. "We think it's important to have the kids learn some of the business aspect of art, too."

Customers at Bobaloon's have been enjoying wall and ceiling paintings for months done by Escanaba Middle School sixth, seventh and eighth graders, and now the Record Rack is host to a series of large posters attracting attention in its front windows, which were just unveiled at the end of April.

"Mark Ammel, owner of Bobaloons Restaurant, suggested to the Teen Scene folks that the Record Rack would be a good match for their program," says Record Rack owner Steve Seymour. "My wife Sue and I had mentioned to Mark how we liked the artwork the kids did at his eatery. We were also familiar, too, with the large and colorful mural the Teen Scene participants did a few years ago on the side of the Jim's Music building in downtown Escanaba."

All told, the project took about three months, including the planning phases.

"The kids came to our store early in the program to interview us and suggest various art projects. We decided they would create three large posters to display in our front window. Each poster highlighted merchandise we feature in our store: music, movies and games," says Seymour.

As a related project, the Record Rack got brand-new windows installed  from Jeff's Glass in Escanaba, just in time for the Teen Scene project unveiling party, says Seymour.

This fall, another wall mural, at Crispigna's Restaurant, is the next project planned, and the program will grow to include more artists and techniques, such as landscape painting.

"I'm working now with a group of artists, a local cooperative downtown called the East Ludington Gallery, to expand the collaboration," says Warstler. "It's so valuable to have more styles, more perspectives."

Other changes are in the works too; with the rearrangement of grades and locations within the Escanaba school system, the program will be inherited by fourth, fifth and sixth graders coming to the middle school, so a younger group will be working on the upcoming projects.

Seymour says the program has been a win for everyone involved.

"Sue and I benefited from the program by getting to interact with some enthusiastic young people and being able to display their attractive and creative posters in our display window (and) the kids got to understand how art can be used by local businesses to sell product," he says.

Warstler says the program has been invaluable to the students, the community, and even the local art scene.

"It's a good reminder to parents that your kid doesn't have to be an artistic savant to be in an art program, and really also to the community, that art is for everybody," she says.
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