***Part of honoring our commitment to serve, we will continue to develop remote offerings as part of the public health initiative against the spread of the Coronavirus.***
April “Art club” activities: *Craft Kit “Drive up” distribution, *Kids Choir- remote submission and professional compilation for “group” online performance release, "Best Day EVER!" Mock news show by BFF Kids, “We <3 Horticulture”- Video Series, , BFF “Pen Friends” Facilitated and safe internet pen pal program, “High School Connections” Peer Panel: Facilitated peer review in performing arts, “Art Club-At home”: Instructional video series - music, crafts, balloon twisting, April Fools tricks, and MORE!
Stay positive, have fun, and CREATE!
See below for more details...
April “Art club” activities: *Craft Kit “Drive up” distribution, *Kids Choir- remote submission and professional compilation for “group” online performance release, "Best Day EVER!" Mock news show by BFF Kids, “We <3 Horticulture”- Video Series, , BFF “Pen Friends” Facilitated and safe internet pen pal program, “High School Connections” Peer Panel: Facilitated peer review in performing arts, “Art Club-At home”: Instructional video series - music, crafts, balloon twisting, April Fools tricks, and MORE!
Stay positive, have fun, and CREATE!
See below for more details...
People say hindsight is 20/20 and we agree.
Looking back at our historical contribution to youth initiatives in previous years, we can deduct two things:
Regardless of your physical or socioeconomic restrictions, we attempt to offer something of value that you may access easily.
In a nutshell: ART IS NOT OVER! Forget barriers! We are offering a number of ways for YOUR kids to access art with peers RIGHT NOW!
Below, you will find an “at-a-glance” summary of BFF’s 2020 Youth Engagement Program including:
Local Partners:
Most First Friday exhibition spaces are family friendly as well:
Petshop, Lion's Mane Vintage, YOGA NOW, 402 Arts Collective, Ted & Wally's, Daisy Jones' Locker, CHOICE Custom Framing & Gallery, The Little Gallery, Citylight Arts Project, Maple St. Construct, The B Side of Benson Theatre, Parlour 1887, Star Deli, Jake's Cigars, Warlock Gallery, Barchen, and on-street window displays at Burke's Pub & Edward Jones.
Looking back at our historical contribution to youth initiatives in previous years, we can deduct two things:
- We always want to make a space for the next generation of artists!
- But we weren’t always consistent with our enrichment offerings and hadn’t set measurable outcomes in regard to our impact.
Regardless of your physical or socioeconomic restrictions, we attempt to offer something of value that you may access easily.
In a nutshell: ART IS NOT OVER! Forget barriers! We are offering a number of ways for YOUR kids to access art with peers RIGHT NOW!
Below, you will find an “at-a-glance” summary of BFF’s 2020 Youth Engagement Program including:
- a weekly “Art Club”
- monthly virtual photography events
- monthly Benson First Friday activities
- monthly “Art IQ” facilitated workshop for high school students
- quarterly community outreach at public institutions
Local Partners:
- Ted & Wally's - which also happens to be BFF Youth Engagement's HQ every First Friday from 6-9pm!
- Beginning in April, the parking lot will be closed off for youth art activities)
- Beginning in April, the parking lot will be closed off for youth art activities)
- Citylight Arts Project - hosting our weekly Art Clubs!
Most First Friday exhibition spaces are family friendly as well:
Petshop, Lion's Mane Vintage, YOGA NOW, 402 Arts Collective, Ted & Wally's, Daisy Jones' Locker, CHOICE Custom Framing & Gallery, The Little Gallery, Citylight Arts Project, Maple St. Construct, The B Side of Benson Theatre, Parlour 1887, Star Deli, Jake's Cigars, Warlock Gallery, Barchen, and on-street window displays at Burke's Pub & Edward Jones.
Youth Engagement Programming
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VIRTUAL OFFERINGS
We fully intend to honor our commitment to be a reliable source of exposure to art and art learning. The complication of required isolation to the communities affected by the Coronavirus has led BFF to create new ways to reach the youth of our community. Specific details are yet to be released, but will include the onset of new programs starting as early as April 2020. Those program activities will include, but may not be limited to:
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ART CLUB
This is an ALL AGES weekly gathering where we use self-directed learning to fuel the curiosity children and foster their love of art. We then pair that with a highlight activity that includes choral instruction and/or featured artists. These events are free and open to the public. To ensure the safety of participants, parents are required to fill out a form disclosing any medical/emergency contact information that our volunteers may need in an emergency at their first gathering, and sign in during subsequent events so our volunteers may reference that information if needed. |
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BFF Kids Virtual Photography Event & Exhibition
BFF Youth Engagement provides children guided learning through experience using photography as a medium. Children and parents are given an “assignment” as well as tips to achieve a desired outcome using the photographic tools found in their existing environment. Cellular phones are typically used to capture images, which are then sent to BFF for a professional photographer’s edit, and then printed for exhibition are our BFF “home base”, Ted & Wally's Ice cream shoppe in Benson. All submissions are completed via email and communication is strictly between the parents and BFF Youth Engagement Coordinator only. |
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First Friday ALL AGES Activity
Every BFF, we hold a special youth event from 630-830. These events usually include participation in some sort of craft but also features highlights leveraging local artists. These artists may showcase their talent, play along with, and/or teach kids about their craft. The 2020 calendar includes contributions from professional clowns, musicians, hula hoop instructors and more! Though it may seem like a lot of flare for a single event on a monthly basis, the intention is to use this event as our flagship attraction to our community. It’s visibility, and accessibility creates a convenient way for parents and children to connect with BFF, and stay connected through the year! Parents are Asked to sign in for these events so we can attract the amount and ages of children at each event. |
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“Art IQ” Facilitated Workshop
Select high school students are invited to participate in our pilot program that we call “Art IQ”. There are no standards to participate in this program other than an interest and willingness to increase a depth of learning in artistic expression. We allow kids to participate if they commit to meet with us for a minimum of 6 months. We try to reward this commitment by taking feedback from this cohort group to select topics for the learning path, paired with access to local artists whose expertise are in those areas. Our intent is to remove barriers, so though we reference the OPS standards of curriculum for topic selection, we will also attempt to measure fluency of real-world art knowledge. For example- We would always want a child to feel comfortable seeking information from the art community, but if they don’t know some of the language or cultural nuances, they may feel less comfortable approaching artists. We desire measurable impact, so in that time, we determine a base of knowledge, and have pre selected points in which we evaluate growth in that area. We do this by using questionnaires throughout the process at regular intervals. Once the 6 months is complete, we offer some “capstone” benefits with allowed participation in a BFF Art Exhibition, optional workshops on marketing through e-commerce (in a manner that is safe to minors), operational workshops, and other supplemental information. Our participants will be siphoned to us through other organizations, such as Girls, Inc. and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands, and other community groups. To remain accessible, the location of these meetings are strategically located near sources of public transportation.
Select high school students are invited to participate in our pilot program that we call “Art IQ”. There are no standards to participate in this program other than an interest and willingness to increase a depth of learning in artistic expression. We allow kids to participate if they commit to meet with us for a minimum of 6 months. We try to reward this commitment by taking feedback from this cohort group to select topics for the learning path, paired with access to local artists whose expertise are in those areas. Our intent is to remove barriers, so though we reference the OPS standards of curriculum for topic selection, we will also attempt to measure fluency of real-world art knowledge. For example- We would always want a child to feel comfortable seeking information from the art community, but if they don’t know some of the language or cultural nuances, they may feel less comfortable approaching artists. We desire measurable impact, so in that time, we determine a base of knowledge, and have pre selected points in which we evaluate growth in that area. We do this by using questionnaires throughout the process at regular intervals. Once the 6 months is complete, we offer some “capstone” benefits with allowed participation in a BFF Art Exhibition, optional workshops on marketing through e-commerce (in a manner that is safe to minors), operational workshops, and other supplemental information. Our participants will be siphoned to us through other organizations, such as Girls, Inc. and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands, and other community groups. To remain accessible, the location of these meetings are strategically located near sources of public transportation.
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Public Outreach
Since resources are limited, we know that our other programs can happen most reliably within our local area. However, we want to make a concerted effort to remain inclusive to our community in the greater Omaha area. That being said, we recognize that it isn’t always fair to ask parents to “come to us”, so we are attempting to reach families in places that are being utilized by the general public. We have been very proud to have offered and scheduled upcoming events within the Omaha Public Schools and the Omaha Public Library. |
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Youth Arts Scholarship
Thanks to some AMAZING local artists who waived their artist fees on our Micah House project, we've re-routed the funds to go toward an area youth arts scholarship for a student pursuing a trade, associate’s, or bachelor’s degree in the fine or performing arts. Our first scholarship was awarded in 2019, and we hope to be able to award another this year. Stay tuned! |
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Youth Public Art Projects
Partnering with Ted & Wally's as our site location each year, BFF invites all Omaha-area high school Juniors and Seniors to apply for a chance to install one of two public art pieces on the west side of Ted & Wally's in Benson! Stay tuned for 2020's submissions announcement! Pictured: 2019's Youth Public Artist, Oscar Biesanz. |
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