City Arts

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Overview

Program Categories:

United States

Program Location:

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Semester(s) offered:

Spring Semester

Program Start/End Dates:

February 1, 2012 - May 11, 2012

Other Program Dates:

Break dates March 12-16, 2012

Program Fees:

Some schools have a different fee structure. Always check with home institution first.
For member school students HECUA invoices the institution either (1) tuition of their home college or (2) $13,100 whichever is less.
The fee for University of Minnesota students is $8,100.
Nonmember students pay $13,900.

Using the vibrant arts scene of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the City Arts program immerses students in the study of artists and communities using art to inspire social change. In City Arts, a wide variety of creative practices are embraced as essential tools for civic engagement, participatory democracy and direct action. Through lively dialogues in classroom seminars, field visits with the Twin Cities' most influential community-based artists, and a professional internship, City Arts students explore how art and culture impact communities and how creative work (performance, writing, visual art, music, etc.) has the power to address pressing social issues and make them visible and real. The program uses current events and recent history to examine subjects like social and cultural identity, war, racial injustice, poverty, and ecological devastation. As a class, we grapple with questions like, what is the role and responsibility of the artist in response to these issues? How can art bring people together across difference? Can art save lives? What are the ethics behind community based-art? How do you use/introduce/infuse art in communities that are not your own? Is art a necessity or a luxury? Throughout the semester students meet with a wide variety of local artists, educators, and arts advocates in addition to attending performances, films and installations that evoke deeper investigations into these questions.

City Arts is designed for and by people who believe that the most powerful learning happens through the application and manifestation of ideas into the streets. You will be guided and inspired by artists of all disciplines to design and implement creative work that interacts with the public realm. After being exposed to a myriad of artists and activists who, on small or large scales, ask their art to wake people up, to get people to talk to each other, to light a spark of truth, or to contribute more beauty to the world, you too will be given opportunities for your voice to contribute to movement of creativity and justice. In addition to experimenting with your creative work, you will also be exposed to the business of being an artist and learn grant-writing skills as well as the organizations that exist to support the professional development of individual and community-based artists throughout their creative careers. City Arts will equip you with a comprehensive overview of the arts and activism that is happening locally so that you will be empowered to find the purpose and place of your own unique voice.

Field Study

City Arts uses the city as a classroom. We meet in a multitude of locations throughout the semester which allow students to learn about the resources and creative spaces that exist in the Twin Cities by experiencing them directly. The program’s home base is the bright and vibrant Textile Center located on University Ave. near the University of Minnesota campus. However, the class often hits the streets, meeting at artists' studios, parks or gardens, bookstores, theater spaces, headquarters of arts organizations, and galleries. Students are also given opportunities to take advantage of art events and performances in and around the Twin Cities as part of the overall program experience. (The costs to participate are included in the overall program fee.)

Recent program excursions include:

An arts scavenger hunt where students spend the day exploring both new and established art centers like Intermedia Arts, The Fire Arts Center, Juxtaposition Arts, Homewood Studios, and Highpoint Center for Printmaking
A wood block poster makings session at Minnesota Center for Book Arts with local printmaker Anna Tsantir
A slideshow and discussion with nationally recognized photographer and public artist Wing Young Huie at his studio
A public dance behavioral art experiment called “Don’t You Feel It Too?” with St Paul’s Artist-in-Residence Marcus Young
A tour of the whimsical fantastic rural public art site, Franconia Sculpture Park
An overview of local and national contemporary public art projects with Forecast Public Art
An enlivening dialogue with Program Officers at major Minnesota Arts Foundations held at McKnight’s LEED certified headquarters above Mill City Museum
A thorough explanation of the allocation of arts funding in Minnesota with Gwen Cannon of Metropolitan Regional Arts Council
Performances at the Walker Arts Center, Mixed Blood Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Pangea World Theater, and Teatro del Pueblo

Example Internships

The following provides detailed information on internships that have been available most recently. Sites often change in response to the needs of local organizations and the specific interests of students participating in the program where possible.

Articulture

Since 2000, ArtiCulture has established a tradition of offering interactive opportunities that place emphasis on the creative process—the act of making art. They offer classes and workshops for ages 1 year through adults; ongoing projects that support community development through creativity; and programs that aim to increase accessibility to the arts. The HECUA student forged new partnerships with local artists and community organizations, and created a curriculum for Articulture’s new Community Arts and Organizing Program.

Website Link:

http://articulture.org/

Bedlam Theater

Bedlam Theatre’s Mission is to produce radical works of theater with a focus on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art. The HECUA student worked with and became a director for the Bedlam Ten Minute Play Festival. She also worked with the Young Achievers Program, a partnership between Bedlam Theatre and the People’s Center, where area Somali youth participate in theater workshops and create their own theater productions about their lives.

Website Link:

http://bedlamtheatre.org/

Central High School Touring Theatre

Located in the black box in the basement of Saint Paul’s Central High School, CTT creates a safe, welcoming and collaborative environment where students have the opportunity to honestly engage in dialogue about social zones that may not be familiar or comfortable to them. Through the theatrical process of character development, students allow themselves to step into someone else’s shoes and gain a better understanding of experiences that may differ from their own. The HECUA intern worked in the black box theater with teacher Jan Mandel. He participated in and led theater workshops and accompanied students in local performances and teaching workshops.

Website Link:

http://thecenter.spps.org/Central_Touring_Theatre.html

El Colegio Charter School

El Colegio is a small public high school in Minneapolis that has been serving students in English and Spanish since 2000.They serve a diverse group of 85 students grades 9-12. El Colegio engages students in challenging, profound learning experiences that integrate research-based teaching strategies with Latino culture and traditions. The HECUA student helped the students create a plan for their school garden and mural, coordinated the end of the year student art show in the gallery, and helped with Census 2010 outreach.

Website Link:

http://www.el-colegio.org/english/index.htm

Highpoint Center for Printmaking

Highpoint Center for Printmaking is dedicated to advancing the art of printmaking. Its goals are to provide educational programs, community access, and collaborative publishing opportunities to engage the public and increase the appreciation and understanding of the printmaking arts. The HECUA student developed her own printmaking skills, led printmaking demonstrations, taught classes in the ACESS/PRINT Teen program, and installed work in the Highpoint gallery.

Website Link:

http://www.highpointprintmaking.org/

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre - May Day Parade

Since 1973, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre has been using water, flour, newspaper, paint, and unlimited imagination to tell stories that explore the struggles and celebrations of human existence. Drawing inspiration from the world's traditions of puppet and mask theater and its lively roots in transformative ritual and street theater, HOBT creates vital, poetic theater for all ages and backgrounds. Each spring HOBT creates and wholly produces the beloved, fantastical May Day Parade and Pageant, celebrated by tens of thousands in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. In addition to helping out with general office administration, the HECUA student worked throughout the semester on the May Day Parade. He led community mask-making sessions, participated in the community creation of the parade concept and themes, and created his own section of the parade.

Website Link:

http://www.hobt.org/

Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning

The Ronald M. Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning (Adult Basic Education) is a program of the Saint Paul Public Schools' Community Education Department. Educational services are available to adults who want to improve their basic skills, earn a GED, prepare for employment or post-secondary education, or learn English. The HECUA student spent her semester creating testimonials and documentary videos with Hubbs students to tell their stories to share with the community and the field of Adult Basic Education.

Website Link:

http://hubbs.spps.org/

Kairos Dance Theatre

The award winning “Dancing Heart Vital Elders Moving in Community” engages the creative, cognitive and physical needs of elders. The “Dancing Heart” offers weekly, interactive dance and storytelling workshops for older adults, family members and caregivers through partnerships with adult day programs, assisted living communities and long term care facilities. The HECUA intern led dance workshops at senior day care centers where she danced and engaged with the elders, and she facilitated and evaluated an inter-generational program with area public schools. She also conducted research on the Harlem Renaissance, which was used for background in the development of a new dance production.

Website Link:

http://www.kairosdance.org/

Kulture Klub Collaborative

Kulture Klub Collaborative is an independent arts organization that brings together artists and homeless teens at a crisis drop-in center located in downtown Minneapolis. It is their belief that artists are powerful models for bridging survival with inspiration. Through art-making workshops, open mics, cultural presentations, and group outings, homeless teens develop their creative expression, receive exposure to artistic excellence, and interact with a group of peers, supportive adults, and diverse social communities. The HECUA student led visual art workshops for youth in the drop in center and assisted with the general maintenance of the center.

Website Link:

http://www.kultureklub.org/

Minnesota Center for Book Arts

The mission of Minnesota Center for Book Arts is to engage diverse artists and learners in finding creativity, expression, and inspiration through the book arts. The HECUA intern worked in MCBA’s education and outreach programs, where she prepared materials for book making workshops, co-taught classes at area schools, and learned about book-making, printmaking, and paper-making.

Website Link:

http://www.mnbookarts.org/

Patrick's Cabaret

Patrick’s Cabaret serves and supports artists in their growth and development by encouraging them to take risks, try new things, and present works in progress. Patrick’s serves a diverse range of performing artists, from emerging to experienced, from teenagers through seniors. The Cabaret specifically reaches out to artists of color, queer-identified artists, and those with disabilities. The HECUA intern coordinated the outreach, publicity, fundraising, and implementation for “Movies in the Park-ing Lot”, a summer movie series with the intention to engage and connect residents and local organizations in the Lake Street and Hiawatha neighborhood. He also recruited and scheduled local artists to perform before the movies.

Website Link:

http://www.patrickscabaret.org/

Pillsbury House - Mobile Art Project

Located in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis, Pillsbury House is one of the community centers of Pillsbury United Communities, a nonprofit organization working to create choice, change and connection for people from all walks of life. The HECUA student worked with local artists and area youth to lead the workshops and coordinate the final public event for The Central Mobile Art Team (Youth PAC), a mobile public art project. Youth PAC brought together participants in Pillsbury House programs with neighborhood residents to work with Minneapolis Art on Wheels (MAW). A series of creative work sessions over the spring led to a participatory, nighttime, outdoors, public art event that utilized traditional art making (puppetry, drawing, poetry), combined with advanced technology (live video collaging, large-scale video projection).

Website Link:

http://www.puc-mn.org/NeighborhoodCenters/PillsburyHouse/tabid/180/Default.aspx

Powderhorn365

Powderhorn365, begun in January of 2009, is a collaborative effort by seven photographers living in the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood of Minneapolis. The website is dedicated to daily posts of photographs taken in the neighborhood. The HECUA student spent the semester managing the daily uploads on the website, creating a book of photography complete with interviews with the photographers, and spent time on her own photography with guidance from the photography mentors she met through the project.

Website Link:

http://www.powderhorn365.com/

Teatro Del Pueblo

Teatro del Pueblo is a small, non-profit Latino theater located in St. Paul, MN. Fostered by the Latino community on the West Side, it has grown since its inception in 1992 to serve St. Paul, Minneapolis, the metro area and greater Minnesota. Based in the West Side's Latino community, Teatro del Pueblo promotes Latino culture through the creation and presentation of performing arts. Teatro develops and supports Latino artists, provides educational opportunities for all to experience Latino culture and promotes cross-cultural dialogue. The HECUA student helped to prepare and coordinate the Political Theatre Festival and played a key role in marketing the theater’s touring shows.

Website Link:

http://teatrodelpueblo.org/

Additional Internship Sites:

Bell Museum of Natural History

Central Community Housing Trust

Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts

Minnesota Citizens for the Arts

Intermedia Arts

Forecast Public Art Works

Immigrant Workers Freedom Network

Juxtaposition Arts

KFAI Radio

Macphail Center for Music

Perpich Center for Arts Education

Red Hot Art Festival

Youth Farm and Market Project

Eligibility & Coursework

Documentation & Syllabus Examples:

ca_2011_syllabus_final.pdf

Prerequisites/Eligibility:

Whether you are a painter, activist, actor, theorist, or still in the midst of questioning self in the world, you will find this program helps you think and work creatively for social change. City Arts is a dynamic environment for exploring the role that art, culture and creativity play in a wide variety of disciplines. Along with students majoring in the arts and cultural studies, past participants have also come from sociology, psychology, urban studies, social work, communications, psychology, political science and various language and literature departments.

Students who apply must have completed one academic year in a four-year degree- seeking program, and hold a GPA of 2.5 or higher (2.0 GPA students are still welcome to apply, but will receive extra scrutiny).

Courses:

Creating Social Change: Art and Culture in Political, Social and Historical Context (Reading Seminar)
Arts Praxis: Social Justice Theory and Practice in the Field (Field Seminar)
Internship Placement and Seminar

Total: 4 course credits / 16 credit hours
The courses are taken as an integrated whole and provide the equivalent of a semester's worth of credit, i.e. 4 course credits, 16 semester credits or 27 trimester credits. This program is full-time with classes two days a week (10am to 3pm) and around 20 hours weekly in an internship.

Credits

Receive Credits That Count

Like with most off-campus study programs, students need to work directly with their home institution to receive credit for participation in a HECUA program. It's important to note that HECUA's courses offer upper-level division credits. It's common to be awarded general education ("gen ed") credits, but most students also obtain significant Major and Minor credits as well. To assist with the process of negotiating credits with advisors and registrars on campus, HECUA has compiled information on how recent participants of City Arts worked to receive credit from their respective schools. The following examples of credit earned are solely those that students have reported to HECUA.

Please contact HECUA's Director of Programs, Sarah Pradt, for more information on credit approval and for help with your individual situation.

Major and/or Minor Credit Students Have Received

• Art
• Community Art
• Communication Studies
• Fine arts, (photography)
• Graphic Design
• Humanities, Media, and Cultural Studies
• Peace and Justice Studies
• Popular Media and Culture
• Studio Art
• Social Justice
• Theatre/Theatre Arts
• Urban Studies

Keep in mind that credit approval may be possible in other Major or Minor areas that HECUA is not yet aware of.

Previous Students' Methods for Credit Approval

• Spoke with Academic Advisor about credit approval process
• Spoke with Major/Minor Department Head about credit approval process
• Spoke with school's HECUA board representative
• First got general credit approval from school, then worked with Academic Advisor for Major/Minor credit approval
• Saved coursework and internship work (syllabus, papers, projects) to give to Academic Advisor and Major/Minor Department Head for credit approval process
• Worked with off-campus study office and Office of the Registrar for credit approval

Student Reflections

"This is an education that will recharge your batteries instead of drain them."
Kyle, University of Minnesota

"All of the material we covered was taught in a way that we could internalize and make relevant to our own lives."
Thomas, University of Minnesota

"This teaching-learning approach resonated deeply with me and helped me to recognize my own personal ambitions."
Alexander, University of Minnesota

"It's a hands-on kind of learning in an intimate setting, making it easy to really get the most out of your education."
Breanna, University of Minnesota

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