GIFTS AT WORK
Creative Outlets
I
nside the Cape Cod Museum of Art on the second Sunday of July, there’s lots of laughter, plenty of smiles, and even a few hugs to go around as a group of eight students put the finishing brush marks on their 3-D artwork. This is what childhood is supposed to look like. And it’s the intention of a new program, Creative Outlets, whose aim is to take at-risk youth between the ages of 12 and 16 and offer them opportunities to express themselves artistically through structured projects that include messy art, Afro-Cuban drumming, cooking, acting and improv, creating papier-mâché monsters, and writing. Over the course of three, six-week sessions, students meet for four hours on successive Sundays to take part in creative workshops led by area artists. They are joined by a therapist, who facilitates discussion at the beginning and end of each class. Started in April, the impetus for Creative Outlets was Sharon Leder, the daughter of a heroin-addicted father who died from an overdose when she was only a child. Last year, she chronicled the pain of that life-changing moment in the novel, “The Fix: A Father’s Secrets, A Daughter’s Search.” Writing and talking about the book served as a form of catharsis for Leder. But she wanted to do more, so together with Benton Jones, education and outreach coordinator at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, and several local psychiatrists, guidance counselors, and educators, they created the framework for this pilot program.
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“With the opioid epidemic becoming a greater problem, we realized trying to deal with the problem directly would be an incredible achievement,” says Jones. “Even if we could affect one person’s life, it would justify Sharon’s struggle.” Leder has used proceeds from her book to help fund Creative Outlets, which has also received support from the AFCC. Jones stresses that the goal of the program is preventative, particularly at an age when children, out of boredom, anxiety, or peer pressure, may be tempted to make choices that could negatively impact their lives. “We want Creative Outlets to be a safe place where these kids have some stability and calm and can take part in fun activities,” he says. “This is a bit of an oasis from all the stressors where they’re not being graded or judged.” That is exactly what several children mention when asked about the program in July. “I like the freedom of creativity,” says Fiona, a soon-to-be sixth grader. “I get to express myself in ways that I can’t otherwise do,” says 15-year-old June. For Sophie, who will be entering seventh grade, creating art has “actually been calming for me,” she says. “And we always have fun,” Jesse, 14, chimes in. Here, inside the Cape Cod Museum of Art, kids are allowed to be kids — relax, have fun, and express themselves creatively — without any of the temptations of modern society. This is what childhood is supposed to look like.
Pops by the Sea 2018
