American Fidelity Foundation 9000 Cameron Parkway Oklahoma City, OK 73114 Artspace at Untitled requests American Fidelity Foundation’s grant support of $1,000 for our first annual Mentorship Program Summer Camp from June 1823, 2018. INTRODUCTION For three years of their high school careers, students from Oklahoma City Public Schools visit Artspace’s professional working studio to create, learn and experiment with art. With the help of our Education Director and local artists who serve as program mentors, this free program prepares Oklahoma students for a future of possibilities through an interdisciplinary art curriculum. Growing from four schools to ten in 2018, 12 groups of over 100 students work with and as artists in a professional studio, producing a wide range a works from original prints to digital art. The Mentorship Program does not replace the classroom. This program started as Artspace’s outreach efforts to schools to provide students an experience beyond traditional academia. We connect young minds to a flourishing art community in Oklahoma City and beyond. Entirely free to students and teachers, this program is funded through Artspace’s resources and generous community support. STATEMENT OF NEED & PROJECT DESCRIPTION Free, accessible summer art programs are difficult to find for high school students. While many college preparatory programs and art camps exist for this age group, many students in the Mentorship Program cannot afford costly tuition fees. With students’ requests to extend this program into summer, Artspace will hold its first summer camp for Mentorship students June 1823 of 2018. This oneweek immersive session invites 15 students from all participating high schools to collaborate on three largescale artworks in Artspace's outdoor facilities. Six local artists will guide students in the development, creation, execution of a hanging mobile, a free standing sculpture, and a 3D wallmounted sculpture. All three projects will use found and recycled materials, teaching students problemsolving, resourcefulness and sustainability. The week ends with an exhibition showcasing students' works to the public. The Mentorship Program meets students’ educational and developmental needs. Most students cannot afford extracurricular art classes or supplies. Other students speak English as a second language, and the program advances their English skills through active dialogue. Emerson North and South are 2year alternative schools for atrisk students who have either been incarcerated, or have experienced life debilitating circumstances preventing them from attending traditional school. Mission Academy students recovering from drug and alcohol addiction use monthly studio time as a healing practice, cultivating meaningful relationships with their work, peers, and mentors.
When the school year ends, students still want to practice and expand their artistic skills, regularly using Artspace as an educational resource beyond classroom time. Around 20% of Mentorship students this year have spent many hours or their spring, winter and summer breaks to continue work on their art, intern in our building, work in Artspace’s Hive shop, and to volunteer their time maintaining the print studio. These extra hours help build a sense of professional demeanor, sense of purpose, and endless curiosity in students, especially as they involve themselves in our programming outside of the Mentorship Program. To continue these positive extracurricular results, Artspace feels an immense responsibility to our students to provide a creative, collaborative outlet during the summer break. Upon entering this program, most students do not recognize their potential. Our impetus for this program is to help students dream the impossible, and to inspire their dreams into action. Funding amount requested: $1,000 American Fidelity Foundation’s investment of $1,000 will help Artspace complete the funding we need to implement this unique summer camp for our students. Our staff and board of directors are enthusiastic about this project, and we have already conducted several productive meetings with our six artists who will serve as mentors for this camp session. Summer Camp Budget: $6,250 The total cost for this program is $6,000. American Fidelity Foundation’s funds to Artspace would be implemented to purchase supplies and meals for each student for the 2018 summer camp, and we will submit a detailed report of all purchases and their impact on students. The following outlines how American Fidelity’s funds would be implemented to support the Mentorship Summer Camp: Daily meals (lunch, beverages and snacks) for students: $750 Supplies (steel, metal frames, wood and other artmaking supplies) $3,000 Teaching stipends for 6 artists: $2,500 (Around $415 per artist for entire week) Acknowledgement/Visibility for American Fidelity American Fidelity’s grant support includes company name recognition on Artspace's website, its donor window inside the building, and on marketing materials regarding the camp. This also includes perks a meet & greet with students and mentors before the opening reception. PROJECT GOALS This camp lengthens our educational efforts beyond the school year by offering an innovative art incubator for students who might not be able to create art in a structured yet creative environment during the summer. A free summer camp guided by professional artists simply does not exist in our community. Three goals outline this project: Goal 1: Collaboration This camp will integrate students from all Mentorship Program schools for the first time. We want this experience to motivate our students to explore new ideas by working with their peers, learning from our six artists, and working with new materials and supplies. Goal 2: Sustainable Art We will teach students to navigate a modern disposable culture, learning the value of objects and recycling them to create profound meaning. Art in this form teaches sustainable lifestyles – students will learn to apply resourcefulness to their artistic endeavors. Students will think inventively about how found
and discarded objects can create art. Students will understand a larger importance of cultural preservation through recycled materials, cultivating a sense of ownership and respect for our city’s rich history. Goal 3: School Year Preparedness Inspired by artists like Elizabeth Murray whose works pushed printmaking to threedimensional art, our camp artists will explore 3D mediums with students. This artbuilding process will prepare students for the fall semester, where we study threedimensional printmaking. Students this fall will create original designs on iPads, send them to our Epson SureColor printer, and print their designs to create installation art. PROJECT TIMELINE Planning and supply purchases: May 2018 Camp Session: June 18 – June 23, 2018 Exhibition Reception: June 23, 36 p.m. ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION Mission: Artspace at Untitled is an environment designed to stimulate creative thought and new ideas through contemporary art. We are committed to providing access to quality exhibitions, education programs, performances, publications, and to engaging the community in collaborative outreach efforts. Website: www.1ne3.org Nonprofit Since: 2003 STAFF Laura Warriner | Founder, Creative Director Alexa Healey | Education & Print Studio Holly Hodge | Programming & PR Jessica Williams | Development Ellie Haynie | Registrar Rosella McDonald | Operations & Finances
BOARD OF TRUSTEES ADVISORY BOARD Laura Warriner | Founder Riccarda de Eccher Lissa Shaw | President Bill Goldston Robert Angelo Clint Stone Barbara Crandall Mike Wimmer Vera Mann Chuck Peel Patrick Reynolds Matthew Shepherd
PARTNERS
21c Museum Hotel BIG INK Oklahoma State University Individual Artists of Oklahoma Oklahoma City Public Schools University of Central Oklahoma OkSessions OKC Film Society Black Liberated Arts Center Visionary Oklahoma Women Oklahoma City Museum of Art Science Museum Oklahoma F.A.C.T – OKC Police Department
Education: Along with the Mentorship Program, Artspace offers arts education through college internships, our Graphic Arts Resource Center housing art and photography archives, and a library with over 2,000 publications. Exhibitions: Artspace showcases a variety of artists, mediums and ideas through its multigallery exhibition space. In November of 2017, the art center celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first exhibition and its birth as a premier source for contemporary art in Oklahoma with an exhibition exploring its past, future, and its relationship with Oklahoma City. Exhibitions are always free and open to the public. Programs: Café Society connects people to the arts and with their community with three different programs: Community Spirit, 40 Minutes or Less, and City Sounds. Community Spirit provides an after work locale for downtown residents to connect and enjoy happy hour sponsored by local brewers. Partnering with OKC Film Society, 40 Minutes or Less presents and discusses independent, arthouse, and avantgarde short films and documentaries. City Sounds celebrates the historic Deep Deuce neighborhood with live jazz, blues, hip hop, and more. The Artist in Residency (AIR) program opens residencies to local and national artists showing innovative potential. Artists participate in other programming through demonstrations, workshops, discussions, or exhibits of their work. The Press at Untitled offers demonstrations, classes, and workshops in an array of artistic disciplines. Our studio equipment includes four etching presses, one lithography press, a serigraphy vacuum table and screen station, Epson SureColor large format printer, Canon large format printer, and a darkroom facility that houses a Nuarc exposure unit. Artspace offers over two hundred cases of type, Vandercook proofing press, Heidelberg letterpress, a stitcher, perforator, and a drill press. With these resources, students, workshop participants and visitors engage in a wide array of artistic works, including letterpress, monoprints, lithography, etching, relief, paper engineering, serigraphy, book arts, and more. CONCLUSION The Mentorship Program curriculum, including our new summer programming, inspires students to incorporate art in their lives. Whatever these students do after high school, they have learned vital problem solving skills to carry them through any trade, skill, or profession. It is possible to integrate art into any aspect in life, and our students prove this through their diverse backgrounds. We truly appreciate your consideration of our request and look forward to hearing from American Fidelity Foundation soon. To summarize, your grant funds of $1,000 would support the purchase of quality supplies and meals for each participating student for the entire camp week. Your investment can help our students thrive beyond the school year, while forging meaningful relationships with their peers and the greater Oklahoma City arts community. Upon receiving any funds from American Fidelity Foundation, Artspace will provide a detailed report of all purchases and their outcomes. Should you have any questions or would like to receive a full proposal, please feel free to email or call me at your convenience. Sincerely,
Jessica Williams, Development Coordinator Artspace at Untitled development@1ne3.org 4058159995 1 NE 3rd Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 405.815.9995 1ne3.org