by Rob Verdi
Local artist Jean Cozzens mentors student artist Hannah Lutz Winkler(L) during a silk screening workshop. Photo: Sarah MeyerMahatma Gandhi said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” At New Urban Arts, the after-school arts mentoring program on Westminster Street, this idea is in full bloom. On any weeknight you will find the place buzzing with creative activity. Students will be painting and drawing, writing poetry, getting advice on college applications and, of course, checking their MySpace accounts. They are also, probably without their knowledge, changing. Everything is always changing, right? Grass and hair keep growing, apartments that just a year ago rented for $1000 a month are turned into $200,000 condos, mayors are thrown in jail and new ones are elected. Those kinds of changes are inevitable, but developments within an individual are of an altogether different kind and very often don’t happen on their own. Yet, these are the kinds of changes that have been happening at New Urban Arts for the last ten years.
How do these kinds of changes occur at New Urban Arts? It starts with a bold if somewhat seemingly wide-eyed idea. A gross oversimplification would be: If young people learn to develop and incorporate a creative practice into their lives the world will be a better place, for them and for everyone. New Urban Arts seeks to build a community that encourages young people to explore their creative sides as well as build strong trusting relationships with emerging artists. It creates a safe environment for self-discovery away from the cliques at school, and is a place where high school social boundaries are stripped away and real change is allowed to happen. One student started out learning about photography, then moved to drawing and painting and later picked up a guitar and wrote some songs, one of which she performed at recent NUA public events.
