TALENT + PURPOSE

TEEN LEADERSHIP & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

RAW’s Talent and Purpose (TAP) programming consists of five groups that offer opportunities for teens to build workforce skills through paid employment at RAW. Two of these groups are public art muralist groups, Womxn Art Muralists (WAMX) and Good 2 Go (G2G). The third group is Artists in Action, a civic engagement group focused on creating social change and positively impacting our local community through the arts. The fourth group is RAW Stars. RAW Stars (formerly RAW Chiefs) is one of RAW‘s longest-running programs and is a group in which teens learn to become transformational leaders by working alongside RAW’s art therapists and teaching artists in our elementary and middle school art-making groups. They have a platform at RAW to create opportunities for younger youth to be seen and heard. RAW Stars meet weekly as a cohort with senior staff, to build their leadership competencies, and tackle issues that impact them and their community. Our fifth and newest TAP group is Filmmakers for Community, our advanced Real 2 Reel group that works with local partners to create meaningful films telling the stories of our community.

WAMX (Womxn Art Muralists)

Instructor: Expressive Art Therapist Lauren Muller, LMHC ATR

WAMX is made up of a team of young women, trans, nonbinary, and artists of marginalized genders who work together to create positive change in their community through public art. Artists who have developed some art skills and are enthusiastic about working on a collaborative creative team are encouraged to interview for this group.

Contact Lauren at lauren@rawartworks.org for more information.

Good 2 Go (G2G)

Instructor: Program Lead Michael Aghahowa

G2G is made up of a team of young male-identifying artists who work together to create positive change in their community through public art.

Contact Michael at michael@rawartworks.org for more information.

Artists in Action

Instructor: Senior Art Therapist Helen Danz

Artists in Action is a civic engagement group focused on creating social change and positively impacting our local community through the arts.

Contact Michelle at Helen@rawartworks.org for more information.

Stars

Instructors: Senior Expressive Art Therapist Leslie Herger + Program Director Guelmi Espinal

RAW Stars is a leadership development program where teen leaders help facilitate RAW’s visual arts groups for younger artists. They will also contribute to RAW and city-wide community-building efforts.

Contact Leslie Herger at leslie@rawartworks.org and Guelmi Espinal at guelmi@rawartworks.org for more information.

Filmmakers for Community

Instructor: FilmSchool Manager Sidney St. Ives + Wellness Lead Christianna O.

This group is the advanced level of the R2R program, catering to high school students with extensive filmmaking experience. Admission to this group requires an interview, as students will be working on outward-facing projects that serve and reflect the community. This class emphasizes professional collaboration, with students creating projects that are not only artistically significant but also socially impactful. Students gain real-world experience by working with clients and will be compensated for their work, preparing them for future careers in the industry.

Contact Sidney at sidney@rawartworks.org for more information.