Why ART?
We believe art is a powerful method for learning and discovery, far beyond the limits of art production itself. We believe that students are powerful and only need the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their power. Personal connections and safety are critical for personal growth and inspiration. Through art and personal engagement, SkyART provides students the space to demonstrate their voice, personal expression and freedom of choice.
Research shows that participation in arts programming has multiple benefits for young people. It promotes academic achievement and stimulates social and emotional growth. The positive impact can stretch into an expanded range of post-secondary opportunities, increased civic engagement in adulthood, and higher job placement.
Studies further indicate that low-income students who are highly engaged in the arts are more than twice as likely to earn a Bachelor’s degree than students with low arts involvement. A 2012 report by the NEA found that:
“young adults who had intensive arts experiences in high school are more likely to show civic-minded behavior than young adults who did not.” – A Decade of Arts Engagement: Findings from the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, 2002–2012
This is the theoretical foundation for most art programs. But it is only the beginning for SkyART. Our programs work by not taking for granted that participants will benefit from them. Instead, we strive to make SkyART programs more deeply relevant, more creatively dynamic, and just more fun.
Therapeutic benefits of art
Founded by an art therapist, SkyART believes that art is inherently therapeutic. SkyART serves communities on Chicago’s South and West Sides that are disproportionately affected by trauma and health challenges associated with poverty and systemic racism, particularly impacting children’s sense of belonging, feelings of connectedness and overall wellbeing.
Despite the disproportionate burden, our communities often lack access to mental health services, such as therapy or counseling and face stigma around seeking support. SkyART’s Project Impact program takes a strength-based approach to mental health services for youth, providing support for their families and collaborating with partner organizations or school’s to provide accessible art therapy programs. Expressive arts therapies can be particularly effective for children who have a difficult time articulating their emotions and experiences in words and who greatly benefit from the possibilities art provides for them.
What the research says
Taking preventive measures to address youth mental health issues and integrating art therapy in the overall therapy approach helps increase social emotional skills and the ability to adapt to life circumstances (Sitzer & Stockwell, 2015). Youth participants in an intervention program that incorporated art therapy showed improvements in their attitudes and addressing their needs (Wallace-DiGarbo & Hill, 2006). Children and youth in the child protection and/or mental health systems benefitted from the integration of art therapy into other therapeutic approaches, and demonstrated positive increases in social emotional skills, awareness of themselves, self confidence, and self esteem (Coholic, 2011). Refugee adolescents receiving art therapy services showed decreased symptoms of anxiety and improved sense of self (Rowe, Watson-Ormond, English, Rubesin, Marshall, Linton, & Eng, 2017). Finally, youth from public housing neighborhoods participating in an arts intervention program using poetry-focused art therapy showed improvements in academic skills, social emotional skills, and attitudes about diversity (Forrest-Bank, Nicotera, Bassett, & Ferrarone, 2016).