Supportive Evidence
More than eight in 10 (82%) Arts Infusion stakeholders said the initiative helped expose “most”
or “all” participating youth to high quality28 arts education for the very first time. Further, stakeholders rated the high quality technological equipment provided by the Arts Infusion Initiative as a seven out of 10 in importance to inspiring Arts Infusion youth. (Qualities of the teaching artist—such as approachability and knowledge—rated highest at nine out of 10).
The new skills and ability to use and understand digital media that such equipment allowed were a source of confidence for youth. Many youth had previously encountered only negative school experiences, in some cases even being “counseled out” of school or returned to JTDC for seemingly innocuous reasons. Several youth expressed the idea that the Arts Infusion programs helped create a safe space in which they could explore their creativity and find their voice; two community youth participants indicated that the Arts Infusion program helped them
“get away from issues at home” and “find [their] identity.”
Youths’ exposure to Arts Infusion programming frequently inspired a passion for art of which youth had previously been unaware, increasing their focus on the future and on
possible careers in the arts. Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s teaching artist described a student
28 Recall that the Trust’s criteria for high performing arts learning programs included rigorous and well-conceived teaching unit plans, engaging teaching artists and activities, consistent contact hours with students, sequential progression of skills instruction and opportunities, effective documentation of student progress in social and emotional learning; and a culture of professional development for staff.
who participated in their Creative Career Day presentation at JTDC and discovered a passion for dance. Another youth attending Free Spirit Media’s writing course approached the
teaching artist afterward to express their desire to be a writer because of the course. Another detained youth who participated in Free Write Jail Arts’ digital arts programming said it was the first time he had been exposed to such activities but that he now wanted to pursue a career in graphic design and digital arts. An Urban researcher’s interview with one JTDC youth revealed that the Arts Infusion program helped him realize that “I can do more than I was told. If I can do this, then I can do other things… You can be more than what society thinks you are.”
[This program helped me realize] I can do more than I was told. If I can do this, then I can do other things… You can be more than what society thinks you are. ~Arts Infusion JTDC youth
participant (2015)Stakeholders also noted several examples of Arts Infusion programming improving youths’
academic achievements and outcomes. For example, one youth involved in the Free Write Jail Arts and Literacy program at JTDC became active in spoken word poetry, had his work
recorded and presented at Young Chicago Authors’ Louder Than A Bomb poetry slam (while still incarcerated), and upon release immediately enrolled in college. This youth attributed the turnaround in his life to the positive self-image he had developed through his Arts Infusion program participation. Another three students from South Shore High School remained at the school even as it faced demolition to remain a part of the poetry slam team; they then went on to successfully graduate from high school. One youth participant at Free Spirit Media more than doubled his grade point average—from 1.4 to 3.6—during his time with the program and used his participation time to complete 30 hours of community service. Subsequently, he enrolled in Free Spirit Media’s advanced newsroom program. Several Arts Infusion youth participating in the community based Better Boys Foundation’s literary labs said their English class grades had improved directly as a result of their writing experiences with the program.
Finally, one Arts Infusion participant at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation was so inspired by his exposure to theatre and media arts that he graduated from high school,
enrolled in college, and minored in arts media because of the Arts Infusion exposure he had received.
[Arts Infusion] helps motivate us and shows us good things to do [and] brings out a lot of talent that we didn’t know we had. ~ Arts Infusion community youth participant (2015)
For the many Arts Infusion programs offering digital music and media arts instruction, the Arts Infusion grants enabled them to purchase—often for the first time—modern, professional-grade equipment to which many youth had never been exposed. The high-tech music lab in JTDC used by Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music staff, for example, was the first of its kind at the facility. Similarly, Better Boys Foundation was able to use Arts Infusion funding to purchase enough modern film lab equipment to serve a full 17-person class size, whereas prior labs had only one camera with which to serve all youth.
Arts Infusion youth participants appreciated the opportunities to learn new skills that having such equipment allowed, including using GarageBand software to create their own music beats, filming personally narrated biographies within one’s own neighborhood, and using computers to develop and animate digital characters. Urban’s researchers’ interviews with youth—particularly those in the detention facility—revealed an understandable preference for hands-on learning activities and arts programming that involved movement and choices as opposed to lecture-style discussions. As one Arts Infusion teaching artist described it, “These youth are learning by doing and learning by watching.”