Capstone Project Continued...Dun DUN DUUUUUNNNNNNNN

 This has been something I’ve been pondering and wondering about for a while now. Truthfully, my mind hasn’t landed on anything concrete, but I believe I’m getting close. I keep thinking about what Lesley said — that we should be genuinely interested in our topic and choose something we won’t get bored with. That led me to reflect on how every step of my educational journey has been an intentional move toward my own life and career goals. I’ve always wanted everything I pursue to be a useful step toward success and positive impact in the lives of others, especially youth and young artists.

Although my career path has drifted away from the arts, my soul still craves creativity and spaces for artistic expression. I know my project will be centered around the arts and youth because that’s where my passion lies, and I truly believe more can be done in that space. One idea I’ve been thinking about is the issue of silos among various arts organizations. Everyone has their specialties, but from what I’ve seen, there’s very little collaboration — or even awareness — of organizations working together for the benefit of young people.

One of my favorite things about Rhode Island is its diversity in arts and culture. There’s truly something for everyone, but there must be a better way to make that known to today’s youth — beyond just events like PVD Fest. I’m sure there are collaborations happening among arts organizations that I don’t know about, but after working in the out-of-school-time world for as long as I have, it doesn’t seem like these partnerships are being talked about — or happening — as often as they could be.

So, the question… what is my overarching question, or at least the first draft of it? I don’t really know yet. Maybe it’s How can I help make these things a reality? Or maybe it’s Is this even what young artists today want?

While writing this, a beautiful memory came to mind from my senior year of high school. All four majors — art, theatre, dance, and music — launched a Family Arts Day where we brought the arts out into the community, and it was such a success. The best part was a performance inspired and created by students across all four disciplines. The theatre students wrote monologues, passed them to the music students who turned them into songs, then the dancers choreographed routines to those pieces. Finally, the art students watched the final performance and created artwork inspired by what they saw.

What made this memory so special to me was that, for the first time, all of us students used our gifts together to create something of our own — not something our teachers assigned, but something we decided would challenge us as artists. The sense of bliss and pride that came with the final performance was unforgettable.

So when I think about this project, and youth development as a whole, I find myself asking: How can I create a space — or help bring people together to create a space — where young artists can experience that same kind of joy and excitement I did at their age? But even beyond that, how can they use their gifts to become soil agitators, seed planters of social justice, and successful artists in their own right — knowing that anything is truly possible for them? Maybe it's by talking to staff and students that work/attend local arts organizations and/or gathering more information on the impact on arts and young people to develop the right question.  The gears are turning, and I'm feeling like I'm making progress, but these are still very big questions...sigh....

JMW Family Arts Day, 2017