Bronx River Art Center launches free after-school art program with $100,000 grant | The Riverdale Press

by Izania Gonzalez

Art centers across the Bronx want to provide their students with greater access to arts education.

The Bronx River Art Center recently received a $100,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation to fund a completely free after-school arts program specifically aimed at middle school students.

Located in East Tremont near West Farms, the Bronx River Art Center has existed since 1987 and grew out of the early efforts to restore the Bronx River. The center has always focused on connecting people to the river and the environmental issues of the Bronx, using art as a medium.

“It provides a place for artists and community members to come together to practice and learn about art in a safe and affordable environment,” said Maggie Greenfield, the center’s interim executive director.

The new program will use MSCreate Studio, which is designed to not only serve as an after-school art class, but also to encourage students’ social-emotional development as they move into high school. Students will have the opportunity to work on their art portfolios, which is necessary if they want to get into art schools, where applications are often intense, competitive.

The center currently offers a similar free program for teens, where they take a class led by professional artists to learn about the applications of art and its potential for a creative career. Greenfield said this summer’s class for teens focused on sustainable fashion, culminating in a fashion show.

“It’s a central part of our mission to give our constituents of all ages the opportunity to express themselves through the arts, but also … to learn a skill that interests them,” Greenfield said.

As for portfolio development, Greenfield knows that the transition from middle school to high school is difficult and that part of the process is to help students build confidence not only in their work but in themselves before designing their portfolios. Part of the extracurricular program will require students to present their work to each other and receive critiques from their peers.

“They can come, get support and make successful applications to these high schools,” Greenfield said.

The center has been offering other programs to middle and high school students for many years, and the new funding will give it the opportunity to start its own program specifically for middle school students.

The New York Life Foundation grant comes from the Aim High program, which focuses specifically on preparing middle school students for the transition to high school. As the recipient of one of only 10 two-year grants, Greenfield said the center is excited to receive the funding it has been waiting for to create this program.

In addition to other art programs, the center offers an exhibition program showcasing the work of local artists, as well as other paid workshops and classes for all ages.

Greenfield said the center is for anyone ages 8 to 108.

The local arts center Bronx Arts Ensemble is dedicated to the artistic education of children, whether by bringing art into schools or offering extracurricular opportunities.

Judith Insell, executive director of the Bronx Arts Ensemble, agrees that arts education is much more than teaching a child to play an instrument or paint.

“It’s much more than enrichment,” Insell said. “These are courses where students make decisions. They learn transferable skills.”

Insell argues that the arts help students improve their critical thinking skills. She cites perspective as an example.

In the visual arts, perspective is needed to look at a work of art from different angles, both to understand the artist’s intention and, in the case of students creating their own art, to understand the direction their work should take.

Insell said she believes this art technique helps students look at things from different perspectives and assists them in decision-making.

“I think the arts help students understand the world in general, make better life choices, think more creatively and actually question things,” Insell said.

A 2022 study conducted with elementary and middle school students in Houston, Texas, found that arts education helps develop many facets of children’s lives, including their writing, social and emotional skills, and increases their overall school engagement.

With ongoing budget cuts to art departments and school programs, it is important to offer programs like the one at the Bronx River Art Center to ensure they serve “some of the most underserved communities,” Greenfield said.

The process is still being negotiated at the Bronx River Art Center, but Greenfield said applications will be open in the fall and the program will accept a maximum of 15 students.