Art Center Outreach Program Survives
Former participants in the Ann Arbor Art Center's Artmakers Teens summer outreach program mug for the camera at an awards ceremony in the Ann Arbor City Council chambers on June 1. Ducking down by the table are Jan Onder, Ann Arbor Public Art Commission vice chair, left, and AAPAC chair Margaret Parker. The teens had just been presented with a 2009 Golden Paintbrush Award for a mural the Artmakers created last summer.
In the hallway outside the city council meeting room last month, a group of teenagers leaned into each other and grinned as multiple cameras flashed. People passing by paused to say “Congratulations!” The teens – former participants in the Ann Arbor Art Center’s Artmakers Teens summer outreach program – had just received a 2009 Golden Paintbrush Award from the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission for a mural they created last summer.
Standing and smiling with them was Sarah Winter, an Ann Arbor Public Schools art teacher and project coordinator for the teens who created the mural. Winter said she was happy about the award, and called working with the Artmakers a “truly amazing experience.”
However, it was also bittersweet, she said.
“There’s no funding for the program this summer,” Winter explained. “It was great for the teenagers in a lot of ways this past summer, and now it’s over. I’m very sad it’s not happening this year.” [Full Story]