Creating
Created in 1994, and still actively and effectively in use today, Where I Live is MABP’s flagship program and the embodiment of our vision: introducing the power of the arts to activate imagination, education and positive social change.
Where I Live invites participants’ creation of an original image and text in response to two primary inquiry questions:
“What could help my community? ”and “What can I do to help make a difference?” WIL’s active-learning methodology provides opportunities and support for participants to develop their ideas, build new and valuable skills, and experience their potential to effect positive change in their own lives and in their neighborhoods. WIL can be easily employed in a wide variety of settings for participants of all ages and is as easily adapted for educators’ and mentors’ work with youth as it is for social service, community development and urban planning work with constituents.
In schools, over 92% of teachers witnessed an overall improvement in students’ academic progress, 99% of students themselves reported feeling more confident in school academically and 93% of students reported they were more likely to volunteer in their communities. For community center and urban planning initiatives, Where I Live formats have been tailored and employed to engage the voices and viewpoints of residents in the development of essential programs, structures and services for the neighborhoods where they live.
To date, WIL programs and exhibitions have benefitted more than 30,000 individuals around the world.
Responding
MABP works with you (and your organization, initiative or institution) to identify challenges and opportunities, and to develop need-specific programs, curricula and supports[1] [WW2] [3] to enhance and enrich your work. MABP has collaborated with and authored new programs and curricula support for numerous partners within the cultural, social service and educational sectors. These include the New York City Department of Education, CUNY/City Universities of New York and The Mayor’s Office of Paris, Department of Urban Planning.
For all of our partners, MABP’s innovative, arts-integrated, cross-disciplinary approach works to:
● encourage and support diverse perspectives,
● foster productive dialogue,
● build new skills and ways of seeing, and
● empower participants toward personal growth and an active role in improving their own lives and their communities.
Sustaining
MABP sustains the benefits of its work and its commitment to innovative, active-learning instruction and engagement
through professional development. Our program development and training for professionals open new opportunities for interaction between teachers and between teachers and students, and promote communities of learning in the classroom.
MABP training workshops enrich the ongoing work of a wide variety of organizations by helping professionals
● acquire new ways of seeing and thinking and approaching their own work
● integrate our methodology, practices and strategies
● implement our programs
● sustain benefits over the lives of their careers
MABP has provided training programs for professionals to meet the needs of a broad and diverse range of organizations, programs and entities. As an example, these include:
● YIC/YL, an active-learning training forum for NYC Department of Education teaching fellows across the five boroughs of New York
● program and staff development for Centre de la Gabrielle, a platform of establishments and services for children, adolescents and adults in situations of mental and emotional challenge.
● training and support for teachers, and trainers of teachers, for CUNY/ City Universities of New York College Now
● training for high school educators at The National Writer’s Workshop
Imagining
We are currently developing and fundraising for exciting new programs works that employ the arts as a focus for engagement with essential social themes, including:
● The Talking Trees, aimed at educational experiences for schools and the general public, combines the visual with the auditory to provide participants an experience of myriad cultures and perspectives. Pilot programs for professionals and students across multiple disciplines have been enthusiastically received.
● Where I Live Activities Guide and Leaders’ Guide Translations: Translations to Spanish, French and Chinese will provide important new opportunities for engagement and inclusion in this international project.
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