ArtForce

In 2014, leadership at Arts for Learning and Ivy Tech discovered a mutual interest in providing a unique summer arts experience for teens. The result is ArtForce, a three-week summer intensive visual arts program on the Central Indiana Ivy Tech campus that is co-taught by a professional teaching artist with Arts for Learning Indiana and a member of the Ivy Tech faculty.

The program also includes guest artists and speakers from both organizations and the broader Indianapolis arts community. All day Monday through Friday, students work on projects in a variety of art techniques. Students work both by themselves and collaboratively. They also have the opportunity to sit in on college level art classes. In addition, they go on a field trip to explore an Indianapolis arts venue.

All of the activities help students build their portfolios. They have opportunities to experience how art can be a career and an avocation. In addition, the group serves to create an arts micro-community. The summer ends with an exhibition featuring artwork that the students created.

A unique aspect of the program is that students receive a stipend upon completion of the summer based on their attendance and participation. And, throughout the rest of the year, Arts for Learning hires previous students to work at special events along with administrative staff, or with our professional teaching artists.