AH! Program Descriptions

Community Arts Programs

Arts for Humanity! partners with many local social service agencies to reach our broad constituency. Through this extensive outreach we offer ongoing educational and therapeutic arts programming. Participants of all abilities discover talents and express themselves while also interacting with college students, artists, and the community at large. Our partnerships and programs engage at-risk youth, people with developmental disabilities, and seniors in the creative arts. Arts for Humanity!’s artist/facilitators and college interns create positive experiences for our groups through interactive arts such as creative theatre, expressive movement, visual art, dance, poetry, and life stories.

Origami Workshops

This project is funded in part by the Organizational Development Grant Program using funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission.

Arts for Humanity! also provides unique opportunities to artists with developmental disabilities by engaging them in the performing arts and exhibiting their art work through our traveling Outsider Art Exhibit at local business venues and galleries. These experiences not only give these artists an opportunity to shine, they also elevate audience appreciation for the wide range of talents and abilities of so-called “disabled” people.

We serve from eight to twelve social service and non profit agencies on a weekly basis through most of the year. Our Community Expressive Arts Program experience serves to give our constituents a voice through the arts, while increasing self esteem, supporting social integration and building community.

Community Expressive Arts Programs provide group classes in visual art, creative theatre and  movement, creative dance, poetry, and music. Teaching Artists will lead classes for our Community Expressive Arts Programs at our Community Partners’ facilities.
 

Ongoing groups positively affecting the lives of people at centers such as:

• Alpha Resource Center

• Boys and Girls Clubs

• Cottage Rehab. Inst.

• Garden Court

• Isla Vista Teen Center

• Just Communities

• Noah’s Anchorage

• S.B. High School District

• Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara

Community Arts Programs and Partners

The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, 2 sites

A local public agency that provides safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes. The Housing Authority assist individuals and families in navigating the path to personal and economic independence, and provide solutions for seniors and people with special needs on limited fixed incomes to live and thrive in our community.

Program: Art Class to low-income youth, ages 5-16.

Teen Extreme

A Friday night social gathering for young adults and teens with developmental disabilities, held at Alpha Resource Center, a non-profit organization providing services and support for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Program: Art or Creative Theatre Class

Transition Program (2 sites)

Dedicated to aiding persons with special needs ages 18-22 through education, work, and life skills this program provides ongoing Expressive Arts Classes (visual art), and Creative Theatre and Movement Groups.

Program: Art Class to teens with developmental disabilities
 

Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara, WESTSIDE

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara, Inc. has been changing lives for nearly 70 years by providing young people with hope and opportunity, a safe place to learn and grow, ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals and life-enhancing programs and character development experiences.

Program: Art, Creative Dance, Creative Theatre, Poetry, Photography or Media
 

Garden Court

An independent living community for seniors, many of who are long-time Santa Barbara area residents who worked all their lives serving the Santa Barbara community as laborers, nurses, business owners and teachers. These seniors are spending their golden years as an active part of the community they helped to shape and tend. Some are people who never imagined they would be without options; and others who struggled throughout their lives at extremely low income levels and are now able to fully enjoy life for the first time. Interns will assist teaching a class with pre-planned art activities.

Program: Art Class for senior citizens at a residential facility
 

Monroe Elementary

The Special Day Class (SDS) at Monroe Elementary is an intensive educational program designed for children with special needs, including severe mental or emotional disorders and learning disabilities. Interns will work with AH! to create a curriculum and co-teach a class with assistance from SDS teachers and aids.

Program: Art

Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter

Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter is a licensed residential eight-bed group home for children 10-17 years old and provides outreach to youth and young adults.  The youth at this location can live at the home for as short as a few days to as long as a few months.

Interns will work with AH! to create a curriculum and co-teach a class. Interns will work in a small group setting (2-5 youth/young adults).

Program: Art and working on special projects
 

Supply & Create

A satellite program of Arts for Humanity! created by one of our stellar interns, Allie Sullberb. Supply & Create's mission is to enrich the art opportunities of community youth at local non-profits, by collecting donated art materials and distributing them to people and programs in need of these materials. Our goal is to make creativity and self-expression accessible to all people.

We are looking to collect new and gently used materials such as paint brushes, paper, and crayons so that we can donate these materials to local non-profits and after school programs.

We hope you will consider donating your art materials to Supply & Create. Feel free to contact us with any further questions or comments at asullberg@umail.ucsb.edu 

Thank You!