Living Arts Detroit: Growing Impact
Not too long ago, Living Arts was invited to expand our Detroit Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts program to serve the needs of a network of Childcare Providers within the Brightmoor Community in Detroit. What makes these centers so exceptional is they are individually owned and operated within the private homes of the providers.
When Alesha Nicole and I were invited to create a program for the Brightmoor Quality Initiative (BQI) project, we were immediately excited by the possibilities and opportunity to serve. Alesha Nicole is a musician and a fellow Teaching Artist with Living Arts.
The mission was the same; “Deliver excellent experiences that integrate music, movement, storytelling and more with developmentally appropriate best practices supporting the learning needs as well as the social/emotional growth and development of young children.”
But we had questions:
What are the unique nuances and needs of this community of centers, the children, the families, and the providers themselves?
What new skill-sets would we need to hone?
What would we need to understand, shift, consider, or create in order to literally bring this work into someone’s home?
We were well on our way to developing these understandings and concluding our first round of implementation when COVID hit, introducing an additional question: In the midst of a global pandemic, social unrest, healthcare & resource disparities, and a digital divide, how can we do this intimate work, virtually?
We’re still figuring this out, but isn’t that what an artist does best? As we continue to remain present to, and live our way through these and other questions, we have identified that we should enhance our commitment to the following:
Listening deeply to the changing needs, interests, and goals of the providers, children and families, and ourselves.
Being flexible, patient, supportive, compassionate, and kind - everything that a robust early learning curriculum teaches and a successful Teaching Artist must embody.
Do, be, and bring our best selves as human beings who believe in the power of the arts to teach, heal, and build community.
To serve this purpose, we have recently launched weekly live virtual drop-in playdates on Zoom, with access to recorded sessions available, content available on-demand, featuring options that are family-centered and child-centered, and experiences that offer self-care strategies to providers.
We’re working on launching live, virtual residencies and professional development, designed to meet the needs of one or more centers and in-person residencies and professional development to individual centers.
The program that we are co-creating with the BQI learning community is definitely a work in progress. With more to tweak and understand, we are grateful for the trust and support of everyone making this initiative and the learning outcomes possible. Thank you to Living Arts, the Fischer Foundation, and other supporters, Development Center leadership, and most especially, the entire network of Brightmoor Childcare Quality Initiative, including their amazing providers, staff, and families.
By Kimberli Boyd, Master Teaching Artist/Dance
Living Arts Detroit Wolf Trap
Brightmoor Childcare Quality Initiative