Sunday, February 1, 2015

Philly ARTrepreneurs wins SEED Grant

post by Art Teacher Jeff Kilpatrick

This week, I showed a presentation to the Philly CORE Leaders in City Hall's City Council Caucus room. I talked about my student artists at Memphis Street Academy Charter School and did a 3-minute pitch for a program called Philly ARTrepreneurs

Philly ARTrepreneurs was grown from an idea I've had for the kids when I first started teaching at Memphis Street (back when we started the school in 2012). The kids there have grown so much. The academic and behavioral progress they have made is mind-blowing. My students are my heroes. I say it all the time. 

When I show students my own work (my t-shirt designs, comics, anthologies, and art for shows), they always ask me how they can do it too. Now with this SEED grant, I will be able to show them. In the next few months, we will be outfitting my art room with professional equipment and programs so I can show students how to design their own shirts and create their own books and prints. I will also teach students about marketing and shipping their creations. 

The proceeds from the products sold will be split three ways - 1/3 will go to a charity of the student designer's choice. 1/3 will go to the student in some form of scholarship. 1/3 will fold back into the ARTrepreneurs program to keep it moving forward for other students.

I am blessed every day to have this job and work with these kids. I can't wait to walk them through this experience of getting their work out into the world to a wide audience. Please stay tuned for updates over the next few months.

Please CLICK HERE to read the Newsworks article regarding the SEED 4.0 event.

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