OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Sweetwater Center for the Arts offers a wide array of outreach programs designed to facilitate broad-based community awareness of cultural diversity by encouraging participation in the visual, performing and literary arts.  Sweetwater has successfully developed and maintained strong collaborative relationships with a number of area schools and social service organizations as well as other nonprofit organizations.
 
Sweetwater’s evening and weekend programs for children and teens provide a public service benefit as these activities help young people to build self-esteem, to identify and develop their creative potential, and to instill problem solving abilities – skills that help to prepare them for future productive roles in their communities.  Outreach performances and workshops are offered free or at a nominal fee.

Contact:

Brenda Jaros
Education Director
bjaros@sweetwaterartcenter.org
412-741-4405

Program Highlights:

Mavuno
The Mavuno Festival of African American Art and Culture is held early-September through mid-October.  The Festival’s goals are to provide the general public with low cost, quality cultural experiences, and to bridge cultures through the arts.  Mavuno provides a high caliber visual and performing arts experience to residents of Western Pennsylvania including art exhibitions, an artist in residence outreach program, lectures, workshops for children, jazz performances and much more. For information on this year’s Mavuno Festival, please visit the Mavuno webpage.

The Creative Summer Experience
A summer program now in its fifth successful year, The Creative Summer Experience is a joint venture between Sweetwater and The Sewickley Community Center for ages 6-12.  This two week, full day multicultural art camp encourages children to engage the vitality and history of other world cultures through the visual and performing arts, educational play activities and group projects.  Children spend half of the day at Sweetwater and the other half at the Sewickley Community Center.  The goal of this program is to offer an affordable day camp for all socioeconomic levels.  The 32 children enrolled this year were from diverse backgrounds and 50% of the children enrolled received full scholarships.

Mooncrest After School Program and Summer Program
Since 2004, Sweetwater has assisted the Mooncrest After School Program and Summer Program in designing and implementing a series of theme-based, qualitative arts experiences for at-risk children in grades 1-6.  The sessions are guided by an experienced instructor from Sweetwater Center for the Arts.  This supplemental arts program meets once a week for 1.5 hours.  This is a continuing program and is aimed at at-risk youth in Coraopolis. 

Summerbridge Pittsburgh Arts Collaboration
Summerbridge Pittsburgh is a tuition-free academic enrichment program based at Sewickley Academy that empowers at-risk middle school students with opportunities to achieve success and inspires young adults to pursue careers in education.  Since 1994, Summerbridge has worked with youth in pockets of the community where economic opportunities are limited and risks to children are greatest.  For the past three years, Sweetwater has collaborated with Summerbridge to offer “art club” activities to approximately 120 rising seventh and eighth grade students participating in the Summerbridge program.  Sweetwater also offers a more intensive art program to a select group of approximately 10 rising ninth grade students referred to as the Summerbridge “community leaders.” Sweetwater provides all art supplies and equipment for these activities, and neither Sweetwater nor Sewickley Academy charges a fee for these programs.

After School Arts Program at Cornell School District
In 2008, Sweetwater collaborated with the Cornell School District’s P.R.I.D.E. program to provide supplemental arts education to at-risk youth as part of on-going after school program aimed at providing opportunities for social, cultural and recreational activities that promote character development, resiliency and positive attitude toward education.  Sweetwater worked with children grades 3 - 7 on a once a week basis for 8 weeks, allowing the students to experience cultural enrichment through art history lessons, to develop technical skills through individual art projects, and to build life skills through group projects, all of which aid in personal development.  Approximately 70 children benefited from weekly exposure to arts with Sweetwater, which was free to all participants.

After School Arts Program at St. James School
For the past three years, Sweetwater has provided an off-site, after school program at St. James School in Sewickley.  Participants included children in grades 1 – 4.  Each semester, children explored art history and multicultural arts through various art projects and media, including painting, drawing, ceramics and photography.

Art Program at Valley Care Association
Beginning in October 2007, Sweetwater collaborated with Valley Care Association in order to provide art instruction to those attending Valley Care’s adult day care services located in Ambridge.   Once a week, a Sweetwater veteran instructor provides art instruction in a variety of media to Valley Care’s clients, many of whom suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s.  This program is on-going.

Community Service Opportunities
Sweetwater provides opportunities for community service to youth in both the Cornell Abraxas WorkBridge program for delinquent boys and girls and the Life’s Work of Western PA program for developmentally delayed youth.

Community Festivals
Sweetwater participates in a number of community-based festivals, where we provide an arts and crafts table for children at no expense.  Festivals have included the Harvest Festival, May Mart, and Picnic in the Park.