Studio2000 operates year round including spring,
summer, and fall sessions. The summer program employs
50 apprentices every day of the week for seven weeks.
The youth take classes in one of three disciplines:
paint/mix media, clay, or fiber. The student to teacher
ratio is approximately 8:1. At a typical day in the
program, the youth arrive by 9 a.m., sign in, get their
instructions, and work in the studio until about 11:30
a.m. The youth are then provided with free lunches.
After lunch, the youth continue to work on their projects,
learn from guest artists, or take field trips. They
leave by 2:30 p.m.
The spring/fall program is similar, but less intensive.
Art workshops are offered to youth on Saturdays for
seven weeks in the fall as well as the spring. Though
not as large as the summer program, these programs accommodate
approximately 25 students on average. The program coordinator
is adamant about not competing with the children’s
school work; thus, if there is ever a conflict, such
as a college entrance exam on the weekend, the students
always complete their school-related activities first.
At the end of the three sessions, the youth’s
artwork is sold to the public at special exhibits. At
the end of the summer program, for example, approximately
500 art objects are displayed and up for sale. Several
hundred people come to the exhibit and it is not uncommon
for the total sales to be around $10,000. The proceeds
are returned to Studio2000 to support future programming.
Resource Materials
Used in Program
Art Supplies: The Louisville Office
of Youth Development, which coordinates the program
and provides all of the art supplies needed.
Building: The program has two working
studios in the downtown area. One studio is behind the
Center
for the Arts and the other is at the program coordinator’s
office. Both are downtown, right next to the river,
and are in a great location for sketching and visiting
nearby galleries.
Transportation: Since the studios
are downtown, they are extremely accessible via public
transportation. The majority of the youth take public
transportation to and from the program.
Groups Served by Program
Studio2000 is open to youth from all public, parochial,
and private schools within Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Since the program began seven years ago, approximately
2% of the participants have been foreign-born. In the
past three years, approximately 10% of the program participants
have been foreign-born and this number continues to
increase. In the current spring session, 19% of the
participants are foreign-born. According to Bob Markert,
the recently retired coordinator of Studio2000, “Our
young immigrant children have made a wonderful addition
to our program. They have brought an enriching diversity
not just because of language but also because, in the
field of art alone, they bring a culture which thinks
in color, textures, and patterns that are different
from the American born kids. They have a different world
view and it is an important new element to throw into
our artful mixing pot.”
Funding
The Louisville Metro Government fully funds Studio2000.
It is managed by the Louisville Metro Office of Youth
Development. Additional funds are earned through year
round sales of apprentice's artwork.
Staffing and Required
Staff Training
There is one full-time coordinator, one part-time assistant,
and 12-15 artists/teachers used in any given year.
Program Evaluation
Studio2000, as a program of Louisville’s Metro
Office of Youth Development, is collecting data on its
program participants with the help of the Jefferson
County Public School District and its KidTrax database.
Local government has funded many youth organizations
to utilize KidTrax as a method of sharing information
with the Jefferson County Public School District to
assist these agencies in measuring outcomes of their
programs. Through this collaborative effort, out-of-school
time programs can measure their impact on children’s
school attendance, suspensions, reading and math grades,
and more.
In addition to using KidTrax, Studio2000 gives its
participants’ parents a questionnaire at the end
of each session to receive input on the impact of the
program on their children’s lives. Many of the
questions pertain to the students’ grades, attendance,
and attitude.
Program Outcomes
The Louisville Metro Office of Youth Development has
only been using Kidtrax for about two years; thus, it
is too soon to document outcomes through that system.
Yet, the coordinator of the program shared these outcomes:
Of the approximate 700 youth who have participated
in the Studio2000 program:
100% have completed high school
90%+ have gone on to college including prestigious
schools such as Washington University
Numerous youth have secured scholarships with art
schools such as the Maryland Institute College of
Art and the Savannah College of Art and Design
Other Key Elements
For more information on KidTrax in Kentucky:
Cooperation
and Accountability: Spotlight on the Jefferson County
Afterschool System
Evaluating
the Effectiveness of 21st Century Community Learning
Centers by Using Impact Measurement and Tracking Software
Program Additional
Comments
Mr. Bob Markert was the coordinator of Studio2000 for
five years and has been an ordained Permanent Deacon
for 30 years. He was instrumental in developing Studio2000
into a full-time program and building it up to what
it is today. He is well known throughout the art, religious,
and youth services communities in Louisville. He has
inspired and formed relationships with hundreds of youth
throughout the years and is known by many of them as
“grandpa.” Though Mr. Bob Markert has recently
retired as coordinator of Studio2000, he is still actively
participating in the program and keeping in touch with
former program participants. To speak with Bob Markert,
please contact Gwen Murphy (see below).
Program Contacts
Gwen Murphy
Urban Government Center
810 Barret Avenue, Rm. 342
Louisville, KY 40204
(502) 574-1365
Gwen.murphy@louisvilleky.gov
http://www.louisvilleky.gov/OYD/Studio2000/
Program Dates
Studio2000 began in 2000 and is still operating as of
May 2007. |
