The Art in Bloom Foundation chose Project YES for the Denver studio to work with this quarter.

Project YES is a great after school program that teaches kids that art comes in many forms. Some of the forms Audrey, director of Programs with Project YES, touched on while I was photographing were music, dance and writing. Project YES also takes the time to be with the kids and listen to what they have to say. Teachers are spread so thin, that I’m sure it’s nice to have some extra support in teaching their kids. The children participating in Project YES’s after school programs get great attention and seem to learn so much.

This quarter, we went to 3 of their after school dance classes, as well as conducted an art project. Each after school dance class was structured the same, but personalized to those students. There was a time to sit together and chat, then there was stretching and dancing.

One topic the students discussed was music and the messages they send. Students said they liked “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars because it teaches that people are perfect and don’t need to change. I don’t think I would have comprehended that in elementary school without the help of an outside source like Project YES provides!

After chatting, students stretched and started dancing. Audrey taught them dances from different cultures so show them different art forms. The dancing teaches students about different cultures as well as teaches them teamwork. As much fun as it is to dance, sometimes students need to take some time to write. Audrey’s middle school class was at their wit’s end when I was there. Instead of forcing them to dance, she had them journal instead. She explained that journaling is a great outlet for emotions and feelings. The students could show each other their journals if they wanted, or they could tear up the entries and let it all go. Most students chose to keep their stories to themselves, but looked relieved to be able to have an outlet for their emotions.

Finally, the Art in Bloom foundation conducted an art project at Project YES’s open hours after school program. We had the students make collages with magazine clippings and other found objects. Once their collage looked the way they wanted it to, we made a copy of their collage, and the students could paint the collage however they wanted. The students had such a great time making the collage and mixing the paint that they all ended up taking their projects home to finish.

The Art in Bloom Foundation was thrilled to be able to support the efforts of Project YES and hope our small contribution made an impact on student’s lives.