Artwell Exhibit Focuses On Dreams Awakened In At-Risk Youth
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A West Philadelphia non-profit opened a new exhibit that showcases ten years of student poetry, photography and other work.
Artwell takes young people who are facing poverty, violence and discrimination in their communities and uses art to open their minds to possibilities.
"Artwell's programs are meant to awaken dreams and inspire growth in young people."
Program Director Julia Terry says the new exhibit; "Ten Years of Poetry, Art and Possibility" is just a small example of the change that art can spur in youth. She recalled a young man who got a lesson in trust when he made a mask modeled on his own face.
"He came into the program very angry and defensive and then eventually he came to a point where he was letting a peer put plaster on his face and touch him and take care of him and make art with him," says Terry.
More than 50 pieces of art, including the masks, will be on display at the Philadelphia Foundation Community Art Gallery at 12th and Market Streets. The exhibit is free and open to the public through April 25th. For more information, go to https://www.philafound.org.
