THE STORY Our central program, From the Block, Out the Box launched its first season in the spring of 2006. The 8-week after school Hip-Hop workshop at South Bronx Prep (a 6th – 12th grade school) culminated in two performances, one for the middle school and one for friends and family at Carlito’s Poets Café in Harlem. Local emcees guided 20 sixth and seventh graders through the creative and technical process of songwriting. Working in teams, (one mentor to three or four students) the mentors collaborated with students to create an original song. Our student/emcees learned song structure, delivery and performance. Students wrote songs around the theme of Change…change in their lives as they begin adolescence, change that they would like to see in the music they listen too, as well as change they hope will come to the neighborhoods they live in.
In the fall of 2006, UAB expanded the workshop to include high school students. The volunteer mentor base doubled! The second season of From the Block, Out the Box focused on the theme of Choice. Students wrote about the negative and positive consequences associated with the choices that they make. The final shows, both at the school and at The Bruckner, were highly energized as the middle school students, high school students, and mentors, all shared the stage.
In the spring of 2007 we expanded our program once again. Thanks to very generous equipment donations, we built a small recording booth in the music room at South Bronx Prep. In order to support our participants academically we provided incentives for students to perform well in school. Students that improved in their studies were invited to join us on fieldtrips and had the privilege of recording their own original song.
The theme for Season Three was Storytelling. Students studied artists who incorporated storytelling into their songs and then wrote their own. Since Season Three, the students have written about “The Struggle,” and “The Message,” focusing on what they have been through and what they want to tell the world. This past season, season six, they were writing about ”Growth,” both personally and socially, a fitting theme considering how much Urban Art Beat has grown!
We are excited as we look toward the future. Since its inception, Urban Art Beat has worked hard to increase our reach, while keeping our programs intimate and effective. We now have a highly reputable fiscal sponsor (http://www.nyfa.org) and our vendor license, making it possible to easily partner with any school in New York City. In the fall we will be working with freshmen from a Manhattan High School to highlight themes in Global History and English. Teachers, artists, and students will benefit immensly from our well planned cross curricular collaboration!
