Arts for Learning Neighborhood Stories

Indianapolis – April 25, 2016… Arts for Learning’s “Neighborhood Stories” project, an expansion of the Fresh StART Indy program, is underway with the creation of a “Reader’s Chair” and the sponsorship of a number of workshops in the Near Eastside of Indianapolis.
The “Reader’s Chair,” designed by artist Emily Kennerk, is being crafted by Indiana Furniture based in Jasper, Indiana, and will be featured as part of the city’s 2016 Chalk Walk Arts Festival set for Saturday, June 4th. The “Reader’s Chair” is a 10- foot tall mobile public artwork that will be used as a meeting point for regular community storytelling and reading events.
Throughout the months of April and May, Arts for Learning teaching artists Bob Sander and Jingo de la Rosa will conduct storytelling and illustration workshops with students and their families at locations throughout the Near Eastside, including the East Tenth United Methodist Children and Youth Center and the Neighborhood Fellowship Church. Sander, a professional storyteller, will encourage community residents to share stories about their neighborhood while de la Rosa, a professional illustrator, will help students create drawings to accompany these stories. The illustrated stories produced during these workshops will be collected into a book to be published by Author Solutions, a division of Penguin Random House.
“Neighborhood Stories” was funded by the Central Indiana Community Foundation, the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, the Efroymson Family Fund, and Lilly Endowment, Inc., through the Dream Indy 5×5 event as well as the Art 4 Moore Fund of Tides Foundation.
As the oldest and largest provider of professional arts in education programs in the state, Arts for Learning works with more than 60 teaching artists who provide performances, workshops and residencies to schools, libraries, parks and community organizations. Arts for Learning reaches more than 67,000 Indiana children and youth every year.

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