New Urban Arts

Open house for New Urban Arts
October 7, 2016

New Urban Arts is a free and open to public out -of- school program in Providence that provide space for high school students who correlate with artists mentors from the community. In this environment youth are encouraged  to express themselves through art while gaining the skills of leadership. Here is a link to New Urban Arts website..

newurbanarts.org

This re-opening took place at their location at 705 Westminster Street Providence, RI 02903. This event was 2 hours long. From 5:00-7:00 pm Friday October 7, 2016. The hours was convenient as it was the end of the work week and students would be able to attend this event as there was no school the next day.





New Urban Arts was welcoming as soon as you walked in the door of this re-opening. My daughter, her friend and I felt comfortable as we walked in. Two teenage girls not sure what to expect because they were entering a environment different from their own immediately felt welcomed. At the entrance a staff member greeted all guest that arrived to the event. When we walked in I immediately noticed the interesting art work that was displayed throughout the building. For example, this work of art drawn by one of the youth members over the summer of 2016.

Amazing Work

Their was a Dj set up as you walked into the building to set the mood of the environment. The music was urban genre which was fitting for their guest. There were many people there but it was not overcrowded as they recently renovated the space to accommodate the high volume of guest that occupy the space daily. There was a table in the back with snacks and beverages for the guest.As we walked around admiring the art work I came across this interesting piece 

Downstairs in the basement is the new addition to the New Urban Arts building. In this area they have a music station with a recording sound booth with several different instruments, many individuals were utilizing this area. Another aspect that was interesting in this area was the sewing area. Here is a dress that they made during the summer.

Overall I had the pleasure to have this experience at this re-opening event. This is related to theme of coauthoring as discussed in Nakkula and Toshalis Understanding Youth: As New Urban Arts is an environment where youth and artist mentors "engage in youth leadership, risk taking, collaboration, and self-directed learning". New Urban Arts

To get involved here are a couple of links 

 bit.ly/NUA_Inkind2015 This is their current wish list

    facebook.com/newurbanarts Stay connected through Facebook