Festival celebrates the power of performing arts for teens
The Performers Academy, located in the St. Nicholas area, kicked off its tenth year of Camp Just Like Me on June 1 with TPA Fest 2021, the nonprofit’s first-ever mural festival. More than 12 local and visiting artists participated, with some murals created collaboratively and some done independently. The artists completed their murals over the course of the week on the exterior walls of The Performers Academy’s outdoor campus.
In addition to inspiring the community, motivating TPA students and providing opportunities for local artists, the festival raised funds for the nonprofit’s creative enrichment programs that support enrolled youth. The event included music, MC Olympics and a murder mystery brunch, while the muralists were painting. Keynote speaker was Allison Galloway-Gonzalez, the executive director of Any Given Child. Special guest Damien Lamar performed.
“TPA students are taught to use art as a vehicle for behavioral intervention and academic enrichment,” said Ebony Payne-English, who was recently named TPA’s executive director. “We are committed to making arts as coping mechanism accessible to communities that suffer from limited access, and in particular, historically underserved teens.”
TPA programs include #SquadGoals Teen Studio to interrupt cycles of trauma through performance arts, Produce Of My Environment (POME) for teens to create autobiographical poetry, Just Like Me three-week summer camp and Truth & Proof: Youth Open Mic as a free, monthly art and poetry event for teens. The organization works with instructors and artists from all geographic, ethnic and economic backgrounds within seven arts and cultural disciplines including lyricism, theater, visual arts, music, dance, songwriting and recording arts.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...
