OUR JOURNEYS is a student directed, trauma-informed language & visual arts program for underserved youth who attend the Bellefonte Youth Center (BYC). Over 7 months this year, the program is engaging youth in creating 2 major collaborative art projects: 1) an illustrated book of poems & stories, and 2) a large indoor mural based on these writings.

OUR JOURNEYS consists of two distinct seasons of weekly programming:

SPRING: Over 10 weeks in spring, youth who self-select to attend the BYC’s weekly Imagination Club for 5–11-year-olds are working with Teaching Artist & poet Abby Minor to explore different modes of storytelling. Expanding our notions of what counts as literacy, each week we tell & act out stories; create visual art; take field trips & engage in place-based writing; and use audio recording equipment to capture our collaborative poems. These diverse approaches to literacy—including physical movement, visual tools, & audio recording—invite all youth to feel welcome in the creative writing process. This season of programming will culminate in an illustrated book of writings which we’ll publish and celebrate at the end of April.

SUMMER: During 12 summer weeks, youth who attend Imagination Club will work with local Teaching Artist & painter Elody Gyekis to design & create an indoor mural at BYC based on stories developed in the spring. This summer program will continue to invite youth to engage in diverse literacy practices, incorporating creative writing into the design process. We’ll celebrate the completion of the mural in August.

Over both seasons, we’ve designed OUR JOURNEY workshops to meet the needs of a wide range of learning styles, personalities, experiences, & interests among the students who come through the doors at BYC—a center with a long history in Centre County of providing a safe, supervised environment for kids where they can be with friends, get a meal, find help with homework, and participate in fun and meaningful programming.