| Advertise with Java Journal and Save! |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
St. Louis ArtWorks and Boomerang Press Draw On Youthful Artists’ Skill
by Mary K. Morgan
Need a new logo? Or, perhaps an interesting piece of commissioned fine art for your lobby would be just the special touch it needs. Whatever your art needs are, a group in town may just have the solution, and with a reasonable price tag attached. Boomerang Press, an extension of St. Louis ArtWorks, is a non-profit organization that employs underserved teens in St. Louis who have artistic talent, a head for business and a desire to learn. Most of the working artists have participated in the St. Louis ArtWorks program for over a year before being asked to join the artist apprentice program.
This summer the program will begin its thirteenth year of employing teen artists. More than 150 participants will work at two locations, both the Commerce Bank Science & Education Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Centene Center for Arts and Education located in Grand Center. Both will serve as working artists’ studios for the summer program.
Recently, Boomerang Press was selected by the YouthBridge Community Foundation as a recipient of a generous grant to fund its mission. A major factor in being selected was its program’s criteria based on “Three E’s,” Endowment building, Enterprise practices and Entrepreneurial initiatives.
As with all non-profit causes, obtaining funding can be a Herculean task. “YouthBridge Community Foundation has been a strong supporter and advocate for St. Louis ArtWorks and Boomerang Press,” said Priscilla Block, executive director, St. Louis ArtWorks. “In fact, YouthBridge’s belief in our organization played a major role in St. Louis ArtWorks creating Boomerang Press in 2006. Overall, it’s a great honor to continue to receive support from organizations, such as YouthBridge, that make it possible for us to continue to employ St. Louis teens in the arts.”
Soon, summer will be here and these young St. Louis artists will be working, doing what they love most — creating beautiful things for their clients and learning how to market their wares.
If you would like to visit, a summer open house is planned for June 27 and a final art sale will be held on July 17 for anyone interested in buying an original and, in doing so, help sustain a very worthy project.
St. Louis ArtWorks Centene Center
for the Arts
3547 Olive Street, Ste 280, Mez. Level
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 289-4180
| April Featured Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
