Architect Shirl Buss describes our model program at Laurel Dell for this school year:

Laurel Dell’s 5^th grade students have been invited to participate in the 2040 San Rafael General Plan planning process. The General Plan expresses the community’s vision of how and where our city will grow and change in the future. It’s an official document and covers topics such as housing, transportation, open space, arts and culture, natural resources, community design, public services, and safety. The intent of the General Plan is to envision how growth will be managed to protect the quality of life and make San Rafael more accessible, equitable, and vibrant for residents, businesses, and visitors.

The Plan is an opportunity for residents and leaders to think about and speak out about what we wish to preserve and what we wish to change. We will be adding youth voices to this process. The Plan will address issues that impact us all—including traffic, jobs, housing affordability, environmental quality, resilience, disaster preparedness, sea level rise, and public services.  Once the General Plan is adopted, City Council, local commissions, and city staff use it to make day-to-day decisions about our future.

For the “Real World Challenge” portion of their architectural residency, students will work collaboratively in hands-on in-class studios with architects and planners from Youth in Arts and UC Berkeley’s Y-PLAN. We will build upon the work we did last year for the Resilient by Design Challenge. We will research and make proposals about San Rafael’s future—from a youthful, but informed perspective, with a special focus on selected areas of the city (downtown, canals, open space, etc.) We will incorporate the academic focus on earth systems and apply this research to our recommendations.  The students will have an opportunity to present to the General Plan committee members.

Youth in Arts hosted our second annual Bocce Tournament Fundraiser on a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon in San Rafael. Nearly 50 players enjoyed four lively rounds of Bocce at the Marin Bocce Federation on September 15th. Many donors came out to support the event, and one of the eight teams was comprised of teenagers from our ‘Til Dawn A Cappella group. Though our ‘Til Dawn team they didn’t take home the big prize, they played with such wonderful enthusiasm! Competition was stiff, but after an exciting final round between, Take the Cannoli and deBOCCEry…deBOCCEry came away with the win! The winning team was rewarded with beautiful certificates and bottles of wine from YIA Board Member, Maura Tokarski. Our fantastic volunteers, Aliya & Jeffrey helped us to sell lots of raffle tickets at the event and announced the winners of the wonderful prizes from Benissimo Restaurant & Bar, Pizzalina, and Marin Bocce Federation. ‘Til Dawn performed a set of four beautiful songs, to cap off a great day. We enjoyed delicious food and beverages from our generous donors – beer from Iron Springs Public House, wine from BJ Acker-Hitta, a slider bar from Farmburger Marin, and dessert from True Marin Treats. A big thank you to all of our individual and corporate donors, volunteers, and staff for helping make this fundraiser a success!

Afro-Peruvian music and dance is a unique blend of African, Spanish, and Indigenous elements. During this special assembly organized by mentor artist Carmen Román at Sonoma Mountain Elementary School, master performers Pierre Padilla Vasquez, Pedro Rosales, Amelia Uzategui Bonilla, David Pinto, and Juan Medrano Cotito shared their expertise in Afro-Peruvian song and dance with students of all ages. Continuing with workshops throughout the day, students got hands-on experience learning about traditional Afro-Peruvian history and culture with dances such as the Festejo, Zamacueca, and Son De Los Diablos. Through movement and music led by the artists, students were exposed to the rich traditions of another culture. 

The second Sunday in September has been designated by Congress since 2010 as the beginning of National Arts in Education Week. During this time, the field of arts education joins together in communities across the country to tell the story of the impact of the transformative power of the arts in education.

This year, Youth in Arts worked with colleagues to plan a dynamic and multifaceted celebration of National Arts in Education Week spanning the county and offering activities for students, teachers, parents and the general public. Educators and invested community members were invited to celebrate the launch of National Arts Education Week by attending the Kickoff Breakfast for Arts Now Marin with Youth In Arts, Marin County Office of Education, California Alliance for the Arts, Marin Community Foundation, Marin Center, and the rich Arts Community of Marin. Together we celebrated the accomplishments of our young artists and considered new ways to share the arts with more students in our communities. A special thanks goes out to everyone who made this event possible, and to all those who took time away from their important work to come together to consider the future of the arts in Marin County!

On September 14^th, during the next Downtown San Rafael art walk, Youth in Arts will be hosting a gallery opening from 5-8pm for our latest exhibition, Kids Imagine Our World. For this show, we asked kids k-8^th grade to create works of art based on the prompt, “I imagine a WORLD with…” We asked them where they want to be, what they want to see, and who or what will be with them. Entries include works made at home, in school, and in our weekly open studio that we hosted from this past June through August.

This exhibition follows one of our most prominent shows, Rising Stars, where high schoolers’ art is selected, and judged for prizes. While Rising Stars features brilliant art from high school students all around Marin Country, Kids Imagine Our World features an age group more consistent with the demographic of students we primarily work with.

In conjunction with this kid-focused show, we have set up our very own ode to Yayoi Kusama’s Obliteration Room. Our kid-size version invites our gallery visitors to add their own dots. Together with the Obliteration room and rest of the gallery, there will be a slideshow highlighting other installation artists and how they imagine their world.

Come by Youth in Arts on September 14^th to see how local kids imagine their world. Refreshments will be served at the gallery opening 5-8pm. Or, come any other time while the exhibition is up—through November 30th.

By guest blogger Sachiko Moran