off the block

Building on the education and community outreach successes UCR ARTSblock’s Digital Studio, UCR ARTSblock seeks to foster and incubate a creative youth learning community among Riverside’s aspiring high school-age artists and performers. Emphasizing self-organizing, leadership, skill development, and media social networking, the project will build on existing youth contacts and participants to link with and create an expanded community of creative young people who will absorb, participate, learn, teach, be mentored and mentor, within the professional artistic community of ARTSblock.

Off the Block, will offer a menu of core resources and activities from which high school students can select a focus and level of participation. A Youth Advisory Committee will help to set the program’s emphasis from year to year. While the program will be partially self-organizing and thus responsive to student interests and needs, we expect that the initial focus of Off the Block, will involve several key components that we can provide through the resources of ARTSblock and UC Riverside.

Building Block: Portfolio Development and Review We expect students will benefit from developing a personal portfolio for use in applying to college or for employment in the creative sectors.

Block Blog: Website We expect that Off the Block will establish its own website and that student will develop its content as well as use the site as a social networking tool with a blog, email list, etc.

Block Nights: Social Space Part recruitment tool, part education devise, monthly Off the Block Nights will be special youth events, in part planned and staffed, by the students.

Block Show: Exhibition Opportunities Currently much of the work developed through Digital Studio projects is exhibited on LCD screens within the museum.

Interns/Peer Docents We expect that Off the Block youth may have an interest in becoming further involved with ARTSblock by working as interns or peer docents.