Priority I | Youth Centered
Our work is centered on youth and includes our Pathways, Heroes, and ArtForce Everywhere programs. Pathways and Heroes offer client assistance, art workshops and support for youth who are underserved and marginalized. Using healing centered engagement practices, artist mentors and staff practice art with youth in a way that fosters culture, agency, relationships, meaning and aspirations–all practices that lead to healing and flourishing. Workshops are based on young people’s individual interests. This encourages them to find their creative voice. Staff also work with youth to make sure their needs are met and they are on track to graduate from high school.
Youth Served in 2022
Priority II | Youth Advocates
Our Youth Advocates services focus on training adults working with youth and the broader community
on J.E.D.I. principles of justice, equity, diversity, and intersectionality and how to apply Youth Mental Health First Aid so that adults can foster the supportive, strengths-based, culturally affirming environments young people need to heal from trauma and thrive in school and in other institutions. ArtForce Iowa staff conduct professional development sessions for teachers, present at social justice and education conferences, and offer art workshops to nonprofit agencies to support individuals who interact with youth in our community.
We provide a training buffet covering topics from how to create and foster feelings of autonomy, competence and community in your classroom and workspace; exploring current brain research concerning early childhood developmental trauma; understanding the five principles of healing-centered engagement (HCE) and how to put HCE into practice; leading with self determination and more.
Youth Advocates trained: 377
“This will have a significant impact on my work in terms of how I engage with students and my class on topics that I may not normally approached in the past. I feel more equipped to have conversations and listen to students in normal and stressful situations.”
“This course held my attention all day, and I wanted more. It felt like these people really understood educators and were willing to partner with us and to solve problems. I like how they modeled things for the educators and their work with us that we could use with our students in our own classroom. The best workshop I have been in in the long while.”
“I have a better knowledge of my own bias, and how I can be more accepting of other’s differences.”
Priority III | Strengthening Communities
Join us on May 5, 2023 for #KnowJustice: Credo.
Come see and learn what the youth of central Iowa believe in and how they plan to change their worlds.At the center of our Youth-Centered and Youth Advocates programs are efforts to strengthen communities, so young people live in places that provide strong social support and access to resources and opportunities. Activities include hosting First Friday events at Mainframe Studios; #KNOWJUSTICE, a May event that elevates stories of strength and resilience from individuals whose stories are often not told; and fee-for-service projects that give youth a chance to become working artists and build community connections.
#KnowJustice: The Collective
In May of 2022, ArtForce Iowa hosted our seventh annual youth art exhibit in May 2022. Youth shared stories about loss and redemption, discovery and failure, reliance and disappointment. Their stories embodied the resilience of teenagers, who are faced daily with social media pressure, a desire to find their true selves, in a world that feels increasingly hostile or unstable.
#KnowJustice: The Legacy Collection
#KNOWJUSTICE: The Legacy Collection is about archiving and elevating the many voices that make up our state so we can expand and reshape dominant narratives that perpetuate racism and oppression. We want to support our educators in using these stories as they talk about our history and our culture with the next generation. These are stories that are shaped by our community and belong to our community. By knowing our history, we can learn from our post, celebrate our heritage, and work together for a brighter future for all Iowans.
Event Photography for ICADV Dia de los Muertos event.
Latinx Heritage Month Design for the Iowa Wolves 2022 Season
Fee-for-Service
Fee-for-service projects take place throughout the year and further gives youth an opportunity to share their talents and develop new connections, and most importantly, foster relationships between the community and the young people. Fee-for-service projects are selected with a focus on creating an ecosystem through art that strengthens community connectedness through art curation, healing-centered arts-based workshops, graphic design, videography and photography.
Behind the scenes of Tyler Gates filming for Community Partners.
INCOME
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Grants and Contributions
EXPENSES
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