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March 2009 News
Moving into Spring
As the recession deepens, the number of people falling below the poverty line grows. The number of homeless in the metropolitan area continues to grow at unprecedented rates and the stress of losing jobs, houses and cars is destroying families, leading to domestic violence and crime. Now more than ever, Chameleon’s arts and youth development programs are needed to provide the support to help youth caught in these chaotic realities express themselves, find a safe community and provide the educational support to keep children moving forward in a positive direction.
All this in a time, when income is down for not for profits, including Chameleon, but we are expanding programming! Chameleon provides arts and youth development programming to disenfranchised communities such as the Office of Homeless Liaison of Kansas City Public Schools and Phoenix Families Housing. Now we are expanding programming to Rose Brooks Women’s Shelter. Rose Brook’s mission is to break the cycle of domestic violence so that individuals and families can live free of abuse. Chameleon artists, working with students from the Community Arts and Service Learning (CASL) classes at the Kansas City Art Institute, will be working with resident families to produce murals, gardens and birdhouse sculptures. We began arts programming February 28. Chameleon will continue programming twice a week in the evenings leading to an Earth Day festival to be scheduled in May. Chameleon’s Arts Consortium partners, The Hip Hop Academy, StoneLion Puppet Theatre and other artists, including Opera singers and drummers are developing this special Arts and Earth Day festival for Rose Brooks. The Rose Brooks/Chameleon partnership is being developed as a long-term collaboration to bring the arts to this highly deserving community in summer/fall 2009 and 2010.
We are able to start the Rose Brooks and continue our homeless children’s programming thanks to the deep concern of Chameleon’s artists and their willingness to volunteer to keep the programming going. We want to thank StoneLion Puppet Theatre, Hip Hop Academy and Chameleon’s artists for giving their time and talents to expand this needed programming. We want to especially thank R.A. Long, KC Arts Fund, Missouri Arts Council, Sosland Foundation and Wiz Liz members, Chameleon’s private supporters, for keeping the funding coming to help us continue programming to these deserving communities.
Rose Brooks Domestic Shelter for Women project and benefit exhibition, Portrait of Self, and Expressional event, April 14th
Community Arts and Service Learning Exhibition, May 4th -15 in the Dorm Gallery, Special Opening, May 8th 5:00 pm
Chameleon is working with the Kansas City Arts Institute’s CASL program to help facilitate a community arts and youth development program with Rose Brooks Shelter for Women including building sculptural birdhouses, painting murals, drawing portraits of the resident families and providing 10 weeks of arts and youth development programming.
The class is also facilitating an arts action and community event for the KCAI community, Expressional . The event will be comprised of a series of profound and silly activities open to the college community to be presented in front of the cafeteria on April 14, 11:00 to 1:00. The college is invited to participate in:
• Confessional video: staged in backpacking tents
• Photo Tramps: have your picture taken while flying off a mini tramp
• Give “aways” and trades: booth games including fishing and walking on water
• Drumming circle
• Pools of Belief
• Animals Tourism
• Poetry Forms and Readings
• Community Arts Sermon
All of the Expressional activities, art created during the class working with the Rose Brooks Project, and the students’ ongoing journaling project, Portrait of Self will be documented and exhibited in an exhibition scheduled to coincide with the end of the year college exhibition May 4-15 with special opening Friday May 8th 5:00.
The CASL/ Rose Brooks Project is directed and funded by Chameleon Arts and Youth Development.
Office of Homeless Liaison Continues This Spring
StoneLion Puppet Theatre provided two Saturday puppet workshops February 14 and 28th for the homeless youth from KCKS schools. The Hip Hop Academy will be hosting a workshop for the kids on March 28th and Hugh Merrill KCAI Students will do a workshop on March 14th. Programming will continue April 11 and 25th. Please stop by and see Chameleon arts programming in action.
Pending Programs and Grants
Chameleon has grants pending with the Ewing Kauffman Foundation, Missouri Arts Council, Oppenstein Brothers Foundation and Bank of America for arts and academic camps for homeless and at risk youth to begin in June 2009. We hope to serve over 100 young people and employ up to 20 artist and performers with well paying jobs for the summer.
Other News
Our own Staci Pratt, President of the Chameleon board, was featured in an article in the Kansas City Star, “Social worker upset by ‘Oprah’ show’s search for homeless—but not poor—family to profile,” by Lee Hill Kavanaugh. You go Staci! Keep up the good work for our homeless kids and families. Read the article on the KC Star website.