Student Studio seeks to bring visual arts education to area schools that currently lack art programs. Volunteers design lesson plans around an artist, movement, or technique and develop a fun, hands-on project for the students. Each week the students will have the opportunity to express their creativity and create individual art pieces using that week's lesson.
Student Studio was founded in the fall of 2005 by students at Boston University through the generosity of mtvU's grant program and joined the CSC in the fall of 2006. Currently Student Studio partners with the YMCA after school program at the Winship Elementary school in Brighton (but we hope to partner with more schools in the future!).
Volunteers do not have to be studio art majors or art history majors. We simply ask that volunteers possess an interest in working with children and are creative. Our goal is to teach the students about the wonders of art and to challenge them to think in new, creative ways.
Student Studio is not an extensive time commitment and gives BU student volunteers a chance to get off campus and interact with the community in a meaningful way. Since lesson planning does take time, there is an additional, off-site time commitment to consider. However, the lessons can be tailored to fit each volunteer's artistic interests and are often more fun to plan than one would expect.
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What is the commitment? |
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Between travel time and actual time on site, the average weekly time commitment is two hours each week. It may be an hour or two more depending on if the group meets on campus to discuss on-site issues or if you and a group have to plan that week's lesson. |
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How will I get to the school? |
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We travel as a group on the 57 buss which you can catch in front of Marsh Plaza . The Winship School is a fifteen to twenty minute bus ride from campus. |
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Who will I volunteer with? |
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The students at the YMCA after school program range in age from kindergarten to fifth grade. There are usually around twenty students in the group and we have enough volunteers so that each person can work closely with one or two students. |
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Do I have to be an art or art history major to volunteer? |
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Heck no! We enjoy having a wide-variety of perspectives which tends to bring diversity in lesson plans. The only thing we require is a desire to work with young students, patience, and your creative edge. |
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What kinds of projects do you do with the kids? |
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We have worked on collages while studying the art of Romare Bearden, made stencils while looking at Andy Warhol prints, and talked about primary and secondary colors. The projects ideas can come from group brainstorming, individual volunteer's art interests, or lesson planning research. |
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For more information on volunteering with Student Studio, please contact:
Clare Fitzpatrick
775 Commonwealth Avenue
Fourth Floor
Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 617-353-4710
Fax: 671-353-9424
Email: sstudio@bu.edu
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