2015-632-E Arts - Franklin Street Arts Collective dba FRANK Gallery Arts Grant

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DocuSign Envelope ID:7FB82F39-7614-4970-85EE-75887FBF57E6 2 project for young Karen students whose outstanding artistic skills are an important component of their future economic success and integration into American Society FRANK Gallery's Karen Youth Art Project was formed in the fall 0f 2013. This year, FRANK artists mentored and worked to integrate young Karen refugees into the Chapel Hill- Carrboro community through their artistic endeavors. A team of FRANK member artists and community volunteers met twice a week at either FRANK Gallery or Transplanting Traditions Community Farm. They worked with these young people to develop artistic and linguistic skills in one on one situations. The creation of images-photographs,paintings and drawings,provided students with another means of communication, helping them connect with their past and present and acted as a vehicle for their fantasies and dreams. This year the group's focus has been compiling an illustrated bilingual 4th grade level children's book about Transplanting Traditions Karen Community Farm where many of their families work the land, Karens traditionally are farmers. The Youth group is producing student portfolios to be used for college and career application. Our students all have dreams which we are hoping to help them realize. For example Ree Ree Wei, a Chapel Hill High School student and emerging photographer,would like to work with a global non-profit organization such as the UN Committee for Human Rights. Lah Htoo Boh, currently a student at Durham Tech, would like to enroll in a BFA degree program and eventually become a computer games designer. Hen Moo, currently working for UNC's Moving Department, would like to have a career path which includes drawing and computer art. FRANK:inFocus,Focus on Youth Our FRANK model reaches into the community to provide workshops for youth, then brings them back to the gallery to work with professional artists, culminating in a professional public exhibition, performances, and panel discussion"conversations." With 2015 grant support from OCAC,we were able to form a major partnership with the Autism community, co-ordinating "Diversabilities," a series of workshops,performances, conversation panels, and exhibitions. We are seeking grant support for our youth initiatives to continue our participation for 2016, now as partners,rather than primary coordinators. Historically, in 2012 we received initial grant support for our first major youth project, FRANK:inFocus; Focus on Teens for college bound minority teens showing academic promise and financial need. We continue to host local teens from hospital and therapeutic groups building relationships with non- profit organizations and community health centers representing Orange County as we form new partnerships with agencies that serve youth around themes of photography and literacy, self-advocacy, and community historic documentation. Continuing our focus on youth we began a second major project with children and teens on the Autism Spectrum. During Autism Awareness month, FRANK gallery produced an exhibition and forum of speakers and workshops throughout Chapel Hill, forming new partnerships with recreation, art, drama, and music therapists, families with members on the spectrum, and 4 adult visual artists and musicians on the spectrum. Our outreach efforts included the Jordan Lake School of the Arts,the Art Therapy Institute, Project STIR(Steps Toward Independence and Responsibility) with Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilites, The Autism Society of North Carolina, and the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation's Adapted Recreation and Inclusion Program, The Autism Society of UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill Library. Our Outreach efforts were recognized by the Major of Chapel Hill celebrating FRANK gallery as an outstanding contributor to building alliances within the community. We intend to serve as a resource that provides opportunities that support our mission of inclusivity and diversity, and will continue our partnerships in 2016 for Autism Awareness month. FRANK:inFocus Focus on Photography and the 4rd Annual Triangle Photo Consortium In conjunction with our Community Outreach mission, FRANK gallery received funding from the Arts Commission to support our Educational Outreach programs. With past grant support from OCAC, we created the Triangle Photo Consortium,with our focus on Orange County. Now in its 4th year,the festival has broadened its base and was awarded a project of the Southern