ArtSpan’s Youth Open Studios and Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco: Exploring Inspiration
Harvey Milk Terminal 1
ArtSpan’s Youth Open Studios and Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco: Exploring Inspiration
Exploring Inspiration is a partnership between ArtSpan’s Youth Open Studios (YOS) program and participants from the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco. The YOS program provides an arts-career path for students who seek vocational training outside of the traditional art-school format. The program provides mentorship from professional artists, field trips to artists’ studios and galleries, and participation in public-art exhibitions.
Through this comprehensive model, students learn to represent themselves as legitimate artists as they work toward an exhibition deadline. Students gain public-speaking skills, lessons in planning and time management, and a chance to showcase their creativity to a vast audience of art appreciators. Starting with professional development workshops and culminating in participation with the citywide San Francisco Open Studios event, students learn how to host an exhibition and how to present their art as professional artists.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco is nationally recognized for the quality fine-arts programs it has provided to San Francisco’s youth for the past 121 years. In classes offered every day, students aged six to eighteen learn painting and drawing techniques, improve their skills, and develop discipline in the arts. They are introduced to a variety of art mediums, and learn valuable skills through a diverse range of two- and three-dimensional art programs.
The artwork on display reflects one of YOS’s workshop themes of Exploring Inspiration, which examines how young artists find their artistic voice. By incorporating an array of media, ranging from traditional watercolor, gauche, and tempera painting to digital photography, screen printing and collage, students develop a wealth of new techniques and abilities to aid them in reaching their artistic goals.
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