COMMUNITY CLASSES

•Dot Art annually offers up to 40 low-cost or no-cost open enrollment classes in drawing, painting and sculpture.

•Students range from skilled artists to those who have little or no exposure to the visual arts.

•Classes are held throughout Dorchester and range from the intergenerational to age specific and include single afternoon classes, one to two-day workshops, special programs during school vacation periods in February and April, and ongoing long-term classes.

SCHOOL RESIDENCIES

•Dot Art designs and implements after-school visual arts programs that complement in-school learning

•Contracted at 5 schools for 2008-2009 school year (grown from one in 2005)

•Each after-school residency reaches up to 50 students annual per school

•Programming spans the entire academic year

•Dot Art runs the Shakespeare & Picasso are Alive and Well in Dorchester Program at four schools.  Students at the Henderson Elementary School, the Holmes Elementary School, the Murphy K-8 School and the Kenny Elementary School use the works of Shakespeare to explore visual arts and acting.

PUBLIC ART PROGRAMS

•Dorchester Portraits Project:  Summer teen program employs 15-20 teens in the creating and public exhibition of large figurative work including 3-dimensional sculpture and 2-dimensional portraits

•The Mural Project:  This was a program where teens met for three hours, three times a week at Dot Art’s studio space at the Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester.  The students completed a 12-foot by 12-foot mural that was installed and currently can be seen at West Roxbury District Courthouse.

•The Sisters For Change program is a program for girls ages 11 - 14, through which girls participate in life-skill building and art activities at the Salvation Army Jubilee House on Melville Avenue in Dorchester.

•Healthy Lunch Program Student health, and instilling youth with healthy practices, is extremely important to Dot Art. Several programs benefit from a collaboration with the Salvation Army Jubilee House who provide healthy homemade lunchs and dinners as well as lessons in cooking and good food choices. The students sit and eat together, engaging in lively discussion and are responsible for clean-up.

EVENTS AND PARADES

Dot Art students annually create large-scale pieces for special events.  Every year dot art has a float in the Dot Day Parade, where students, staff, and parents showcase these original works.  Previous parades have had themes where students operated large puppets inspired by characters from Romeo and Juliet.  In addition, dot art provides visual art activities at community festivals.