Pittsburgh’s Youth ArtWorks is designed to take teens through student instruction and paid apprenticeships to eventually turn them into full-time employees as mentors and instructors Art Work s to new students. By Douglas Root Photography by Ellen Kelson and Suellen Fitzsimmons

he world-renowned DanceBrazil dance troupe performed three world- premiere works in New York City’s Joyce Theater last year. One of them, Unspoken ...Unknown, is a duet in the African-Brazilian form of Capoeira, aT mix of pure dance blended with the raw athleticism of martial arts. Its history is represented in the movements imported to Brazil from Africa. Created by DanceBrazil artistic director Jelon Vieira, Unspoken ...Unknown tells the story of a friendship between two teenagers. As friends and fellow Capoeiristas, the two male dancers share everything—hopes, dreams and the Capoeira circle. The story line is a metaphor for how young people are drawn to Capoeira, in part because of the urban coolness inherent in the heart- pounding gymnastics and defensive fighting technique. But students also are captivated by the power of the movements to convey complex feelings of conflict, anxiety and isolation that teens often find difficult to verbalize. That power, which drew hundreds of young people to the New York dance theater, is on full display in a program now under way in Pittsburgh. The performances here are less grandiose—they are played out in school gymnasiums Nego Gato instructor Justin Laing helps a student with his form in and bare bones community centers—but no less energetic. And here the a Capoeira movement. Laing is teacher, counselor, coach and metaphor is being translated into real life: Capoeira devotee Justin Laing, who mentor to at-risk youth in an arts teaches out of the Nego Gato movement, uses his art to connect with employment program that is just beginning to come into its own. Pittsburgh’s at-risk teens.  

Tresa Varner, assistant curator of education at The Andy plan to expose students to a wider range of creative and Warhol Museum on Pittsburgh’s North Side, who directs the administrative opportunities in the arts. But overall, they “I get to spend more of my magazine publishing program, says the arts instruction process found the programs promising. is labor-intensive. Youth often come into the program full “Youth ArtWorks has the potential to be a powerful, time helping students improve their of ideas but unprepared for the amount of work involved in positive influence in young peoples’ lives,” the OMG evaluators making them happen. “We’re trying to encourage creative wrote in their report. “That potential can be achieved by skills, and that’s more opportunity to writing, poetry and photography,” says Varner, “but we’re also ensuring all sites reach the status of the few best-practice sites. showing them that the creative process can’t happen without An additional challenge for the consortium is to take the basics like showing up for work on time and staying focused.” program to scale without compromising that quality, for transfer that focus, discipline and Backing up Braun’s small-scale, success-building strategy that is required if the program is to make a difference for a is independent evidence that says the arts-for-pay mix has a significant number of disadvantaged Pittsburgh youth.” caring into other areas of their lives.” significant impact on youth who stay with the program. An The evaluators also cited instructor–artists for taking qual- Justin Laing Instructor, Youth ArtWorks OMG Center for Collaborative Learning’s evaluation of Youth ity seriously. The difference they make in the lives of Youth ArtWorks, commissioned last year by The Heinz Endowments, ArtsWorks apprentices often has as much to do with helping gave the four main programs high marks. Findings were based them develop life-coping skills as in improving their talent for Nego Gato is one of four arts-centered programs in technology skills, and a portfolio of work to help them in on class visits, benchmark comparisons with similar programs painting or music or dance. The arts can serve as safe ground, Pittsburgh’s Youth ArtWorks, which promotes the use of the future job searches. New this year is the Steelpan Careers in other cities and feedback from apprentices and mentor– the instructors say, for students to open up on serious issues arts as a tool for youth development. Its thesis—supported by Training Program, which prepares young people for jobs in instructors. In an assessment interview process where partici- related to home life, school performance and relationships. experience both here and elsewhere—is that arts instructors music including performance, instruction, composition pants remained anonymous to encourage candid judgments, “Many of the students refer to me as ‘Mr. Justin,’ which is like the 31-year-old Laing may sometimes influence youth and management. one 16-year-old apprentice artist said her experience with a mix of the informal and the formal,” says Nego Gato’s development to a degree that many larger and more expensive The Pittsburgh arts-employment program is just beginning to Dance Alloy had given her a sense of purpose for the first time Laing. “I like that because it says I play several different roles youth intervention programs would be hard-pressed to match. come into its own, with funding that allows about 50 apprentices in her life. “I never knew I had such a strong connection with for them, some deeper than others.” h Youth ArtWorks is a component of YouthWorks, a youth to be served each year. “Our goal is to develop quality programs children,” she said, “and a passion for teaching them to love employment and training initiative that receives significant at a reasonable cost and have a lot of success stories at this smaller dance as much as I do.” support from The Heinz Endowments. The ArtWorks program scale so that we can make the best case for moving to the next The evaluation also was supported by YouthWorks’ partners Nego Gato is just one of the arts opportunities available to at-risk students who was started three years ago, based on the model of “Gallery level,” says Robin Braun, YouthWorks operations manager. in city and county government, and by the Three Rivers are put on a track to become paid apprentices. Left to right: publishing a home- 37” in Chicago. That internationally respected, youth arts- “We’ve discovered that one of the key factors ensuring success is Workforce Investment Board, which administers federal funds town version of artist Andy Warhol’s famous Interview magazine at Pittsburgh’s employment program has served several thousand young to have one person dedicated to assisting every program with for the region. The consulting team did identify some challenges Warhol Museum; practicing ballet and modern dance at Dance Alloy’s Friendship people each year during the past decade. Youth ArtWorks is proposals, contracts, planning and program implementation. for the program, in particular a need to formulate a detailed studio; talking over technique in the Steelpan Careers Training Program in the city. designed to take teens through paid apprenticeships in creative This allows Youth Artworks to be well managed while freeing and commercial art forms. The end goal is to provide them up instructors to do what they do best—teach.” with significant work experience and the job skills necessary Laing, who works full-time in the Pittsburgh city schools, to be successful in any work environment. community centers and at the University of Pittsburgh, In addition to Nego Gato, students can find modern dance says the management assistance from YouthWorks is critical. training at Dance Alloy’s Penn Avenue studio. For aspiring “I get to spend more of my time helping students improve writers, photographers and graphic designers, there’s The their skills, and that’s more opportunity to transfer that focus, Andy Warhol Museum’s Urban Interview magazine publishing discipline and caring into other areas of their lives.” program, where students get job training, writing and