Program Spotlight: I/magine

I/magine – Turning students from arts spectators to art-makers!

This spring, Arts Ignite piloted the I/magine program inviting students to dream of the world they wish to live in and collaborate towards that vision through the arts. In this five-week residency in Chelsea, NYC, our Arts Ignite Teaching Artists worked alongside 50 high school students to learn how to develop their self-definition through artistic expression and complete final projects navigating the intersection of the arts and their community. 

The inaugural program focused on five areas of exploration:

• I/create – Students were invited to explore who they are through art. They were then warmed into the idea of expression: it is fun, it is exciting, it is creative?
• I/speak – After they explored ideas of expression and creation, students explored their own stories and understood they were worthy of speaking and being heard.
• I/connect – Students were invited to explore different avenues of communication. Oftentimes, we didn’t share a common language, mode of expression, or perspective on life.
• I/collaborate – Students worked together to build a community inside their classroom/cohort/workshop space and built a greater group project or art piece.
• I/magine – Students were invited to pair art with community action by seeing themselves as cornerstones of their communities. 

The pilot was held from April to June 2022 at Humanities Preparatory Academy in Chelsea. Students evolved from arts spectators to art-makers and were challenged to actively engage in conversations of community, artistry, and identity. The program culminated in a field trip to see Broadway’s The Music Man.