Each year, Kids Creative builds a community of peace on the Upper West Side, and this year was no exception-the 13th annual Kids Creative Summer Camp was the most successful yet. We had over 150 children from all over New York City who collaborated to create 11 original musical plays. During the Kids Creative process, the participants, ages 4-14 from diverse socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds in New York City, learned art, music and theater techniques and also gained skills in conflict resolution and community building. Participants learned different aspects of being an artist, from brainstorming ideas and developing a story outline, to set design, songwriting and performance techniques to peacemaking-yes, peacemaking. In writing a play collaboratively, each camper works with other children to develop a story that includes each others’ ideas. Each story has a conflict, and the group must resolve the conflict in a creative, peaceful way. Our play creation process gives every child a voice and they learn how to express themselves and listen to others. We encourage the kids to be themselves and to be confident in what they accomplish individually and as a group. All camp groups performed their plays to packed houses of families, friends and fellow campers.
Kids Creative participants have gone on to top city high schools and colleges to study the arts, among other subjects. In surveys of Kids Creative alumni, we have found that the creative freedom and confidence they developed has been essential in building a good work ethic and understanding how to collaborate with others. In order to maintain diversity at camp, 60% of campers receive scholarships to attend, while the remaining 40% pay tuition. Since 2008, the scholarship fund was supported by a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant, which ended this summer. We are currently seeking outside funding partners to ensure that we can continue to have a diverse atmosphere at camp for years to come.
This fall, as we begin after school programs at 8 schools, we are especially excited to return to PS 536 in the Bronx, where our after school program is supported by Variety the Children’s Charity of New York.