IOWA ARTS IN EDUCATION
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Mission Statement
Creating opportunities for youth to transform through art
About This Cause
The mission of ArtForce Iowa is to create opportunities for youth to transform through art. Our role is not to transform youth, but rather, to create the environment for them to transform themselves and achieve their aspirations. This involves intentionally establishing safe spaces for youth to express themselves creatively and to have access to creative tools to design their own healing journey. ArtForce Iowa’s core work is youth-centered and includes our Pathways, Heroes, and ArtForce Everywhere programs. Pathways and Heroes offer after-school workshops and support for youth who are underserved and marginalized. Artist mentors and staff are trained in healing-centered engagement practices that involve an asset-based, culturally-rooted approach to collective healing from trauma and well-being for young people and adult allies. In weekly workshops, currently held virtually, mentors create opportunities for art experimentation and learning in a multilingual atmosphere. Workshops are based on young people’s individual interests and encourage them to find their creative voice. In all of our youth-centered work, art gives young people the opportunity to explore and affirm their identities, foster a sense of purpose and agency in their lives, and find meaning, which are critical components for healing from traumatic experiences and building hope for the future. We start each workshop by asking young people to share a high and low at that moment in their lives. This opening, along with creating art together, naturally leads to conversations that let us know how young people are doing and what they need. We then provide case management and education to address those needs, with a focus on helping them stay on track to graduate from school and to achieve self-sufficiency. We work with young people on financial education, soft-skill workforce training, and health care issues, as well as help them access basic needs including food, housing, medical care, and transportation to school and work. Youth-adjacent services focus on training adults working with youth and the broader community on how to apply Youth Mental Health First Aid so that adults can foster the supportive, strengths-based, culturally affirming environments young people need to heal from trauma and thrive in school and in other institutions. ArtForce Iowa staff conduct professional development sessions for teachers, present at education conferences, and offer free art workshops to other nonprofit agencies to support individuals who support youth in our community. At the center of our Youth-Centered and Youth-Adjacent programs are efforts to strengthen communities, so young people live in places that provide strong social support and access to resources and opportunities--the building blocks for healthy development and academic and future success.