The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, aka MOCAD, is set to receive $50,000 from the General Motors Foundation in order to implement new art education programs for Detroit-area middle and high school students.
This isn’t the first time the GM Foundation has backed community arts programs in the Detroit area and all over the United States. It has sustained cultural institutions such as MOCAD and Detroit-based nonprofits to the tune of $23.2 million in grants.
The new classes funded by the $50,000 donation will be created for and by teenagers. They will be given an honorarium for their input.
Following are the programs named by GM Foundation, set to begin at MOCAD by the end of November:
Lectures and Gallery Tours: Kids can attend lectures and tours which will be given by curators and artists whose work is exhibited currently by MOCAD.
Open Studio: High school students will display their unfinished art works in order to listen to feedback from designers, other artists, the College for Creative Studies, Cranbrook faculty and staff, and Wayne State University.
Saturday Workshops: Middle and high school students will have the opportunity to be inspired to analyze art and create their own designs based upon exhibits at MOCAD.
Student Groups: Including the special tours given by the staff of the museum, students in kindergarten through high school receive free admission to the museum.
Student Docent Program: This program will serve to help students from sixth grade to eighth grade to learn the skills to communicate through design and modern art. The hope is that the participants will gain more skill at self-expression, self-advocacy, public speaking experience, leadership training, deeper visual acuity and confidence.
Teacher Programs: Teachers can attend workshops and preview other programs offered at MOCAD, hosted by MOCAD Teacher Advisory Group of Detroit-Metro.
Teen Council: Twelve students from Metro Detroit high schools will be chosen to be volunteers at MOCAD outreach events in their communities, write for the museum’s blog and create more events for their peers.
