|
January 2009 News
Happy New Year!
Grants Funding and Audits
Chameleon receives the R.A. Long Foundation Grant to support our spring arts programming with the Office of Homeless Liaison. The funds will be used to facilitate Thursday after school and Saturday arts programs for Homeless students in the metropolitan area, as well as related Community Arts programming.
Chameleon has received the checkmark status as a Donor Edge Agency in the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. Donor Edge is a report furnished through the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. This report is a great snapshot for anyone who wants to know more about the programs, governance, finances and leadership of Chameleon Arts & Youth Development.
I Am You Entertainment, a Chameleon Arts Consortium partner, has presented monthly open mic nights at Chameleon, 31st and Troost and the Westport Coffee House for the past two years. Thousands of people have had the opportunity to perform or just enjoy some of Kansas City’s most creative performing talent.
Now I Am You presents The 3rd UnderGround Expo. It gets bigger and better each month! This show is comprised of poets, singers, local bands, MC’s, comedians, and more. 4 hours, 16 artists, 1 expo a month. A non-stop extravaganza! You haven’t seen talent until you’ve seen this!
The monthly 3rd UnderGround Expo takes place on Saturday, January 24th at Westport Coffee House, 4010 Pennsylvania, from 7pm-11:30pm. Uncensored and open to all ages & types of performance art! It’s important to be there on time as the show starts promptly at 7:30. Tickets are $10 and must be purchased at the door or directly through I Am You. Registration for the showcase ends Thursday, January 22nd. Openings are limited, so please contact us A.S.A.P. to set up an appointment and to secure a spot in the show. All artists must register to be in the showcase. Registration fee guarantees a 15 minute performance and 8 tickets (you sell and keep the money). For more information, contact Dae Ahzae or Aijah at 816-437-5076 or iamyouentertainment@gmail.com.
Summer Arts and Academic Academy 2009
Chameleon is already at work preparing for its Summer Arts and Academic Academy. The Academy is an art, education and service-learning summer and after school program designed to teach at-risk and homeless youth academic, creative, and life skills. For the past two years Chameleon has provided 12 successful arts and academic camps for the Office of Homeless Liaison of the Kansas City Kansas Public School District, KCMO school district’s Quest Plus summer school and Phoenix Families Housing community centers. Chameleon uses ArtWorks curriculum, an arts and academic curricula designed in collaboration with the Institute for Children and Poverty in New York City. ArtWorks curriculum was developed to teach academic core skills for homeless children living in shelters in New York City. Each of the arts and academic units meet national instructional standards. Chameleon uses certified school district teachers, who have worked with the tutoring program of the Office of the Homeless Liaison to facilitate the academic portion of the curriculum. Chameleon then trains artist/educators to provide the artistic studio response to the themes and lessons.
The program is focused on inner city, homeless and at-risk youth ages 12-20. The integration of academic skills and the creative arts leads to a successful and vibrant educational experience for these at-risk students. The use of art forms originating in the inner city, such as Hip Hop, Rap, Crumping (street dance form) and Grafitti provide the students with a cultural platform of established interest to inner into broader educational content while learning core academic skills. The program also is highly successful at developing the precursors for learning such as emotional stability, self-control, curiosity and self confidence.
KCKSKIDS 2, Fall 2008
Chameleon works closely with the Hip Hop Academy (Chameleon Arts Consortium Member) a wonderful group of artists dedicated to improving the lives of urban at risk youth. The Hip Hop Academy has just completed facilitating Chameleon’s KCKS KIDS programming in partnership with the Office of Homeless Liaison of the Kansas City Kansas School District. The kids loved the Saturday arts camp and we look forward to starting spring programming in February.
The Hip Hop Academy of Kansas City was founded just over 3 years ago by Aaron Sutton, Roscoe Johnson III, and Jeremy McConnell and has been striving to bring the positive elements of hip hop art and creative culture to youth of all ages.
Working in collaboration with Chameleon as part of the Chameleon Arts Consortium, The Hip Hop Academy has been able to work with children in KC Metro area libraries in the northeast, southeast, midtown, downtown and westside neighborhoods. They have also collaborated with great community organizations like Operation Breakthrough at St. Vincents on 31st and Troost, Sacred Heart Guadalupe youth group, Phoenix Family Housing Inc., The Troost Festival and Creative Mind Community Art Center (where they first began).
The Hip Hop Academy has also created a 3 week summer camp which will work with middle school kids and is a more in depth study of these disciplines. This will be their second summer with the KCMO School Districts Quest Plus Program.