SAC_ SHA 23 request — File 213632

CITY OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS ARTS COUNCIL KATJANA BALLANTYNE MAYOR CITY HALL ANNEX ● 50 EVERGREEN AVENUE ● SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS 02145 [phone removed] EXT. 2985 www.somervilleartscouncil.org 24 February 2022 Ms. Shannon Bennett Director of Resident Services Somerville Housing Authority 30 Memorial Road Somerville, MA 02145 Dear Ms. Bennett: Enclosed is the Somerville Arts Council’s 2022-2023 SHA Provider Grant proposal request for $3,000 to support the Mystic Mural Project. We anticipate our need to coordinate with you around work space again this summer. I hope SHA can support this program again this year. As always, thank you. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or Heather. Sincerely, Gregory Jenkins Executive Director

1 Somerville Housing Authority Provider Grant Proposal Fiscal Year 2023 Somerville Arts Council Mystic Mural Project I. Describe the program in detail Program Background: The Mystic Mural Project is one of the priority projects for the Somerville Arts Council because it encompasses two core components that the Council believes important to include in its programming: 1/ working with low-income youth within the city, and 2/ utilizing creative assets within the community to both highlight these assets and addresses needs. This project brings together outreach to low-income youth, awareness of a community “place” (the Mystic River and the Mystic Housing Project), and its relationship to the larger community. For over twenty years the Mystic River Mural Project has engaged 7-10 local low-income Somerville youth to teach them about the Mystic River and its watershed, influencing both their awareness of and behavior toward the river. The Mystic Mural Project usually recruits 50% of the youth chosen from the Mystic Housing Development and/or SHA developments, with the remainder from East Somerville. Our ability to provide 7-10 youth (dependent upon raising the full budget) with paid summer training in environmental education and the arts is an opportunity not often found in the neighborhood. Amazingly, few, if any, youth, while living within a two-minute walk from the Mystic River, have neither spent time on the river, nor have they participated in environmental education with the river as a focus. Looking at your home from the vantage point of a canoe in the river immediately changes your idea of home and neighborhood. Home means something bigger, it is a part of new ecological neighborhood, that, as one learns about the river, its ecosystem, past, present and future becomes one’s own. The Mystic Mural project takes place during July and August, twenty hours a week for six weeks. Youth are directed by an environmental educators and a mural artist to learn first-hand about the Mystic River. Youth explore the Mystic River watershed through guided hikes and canoeing. Youth study local plant, bird and animal life with a professional environmental educator and participate in workshops led by local historians and 4-H youth coordinators. During the two weeks of nature exploration, youth are also learning about basic naturalist sketching, color theory, and grid design. By week three youth are working fully with the muralist to memorialize their experiences and add to the 350+ foot mural that presently adorns the walls of Mystic Avenue. The project provides participating youth and residents in the area with a holistic educational perspective about the Mystic River. Program Goals: • To educate teens about specific environmental characteristics of the Mystic River. • To develop an awareness and connection to site-specific environments (the Mystic River) and their relationship to broader ecological issues.

2 • To enable teens to take on a leadership role in improving their community and revitalizing a neighborhood space. • To develop teen participants' communication, cognitive, and social skills and to foster creativity. • To set challenging but achievable goals for teen participants, so that success will build a stronger sense of self-esteem and responsibility. • To introduce teens to career options relating to the arts and environmental resource management. Program Schedule 2022 May: Begin recruitment of youth through SHA, MLC, other local agencies and schools. Late June: Conduct interviews with all applying youth; select participant youth; purchase supplies. July: 1st week—Conduct intro design workshops; nature hike along river and alewife preserve. 2nd week—Conduct one canoe trip; one lecture on cultural history of river, history of murals for social conscience. 3rd week—Additional canoe trip; specific bird watching and photographs of flora/fauna surrounding river design/transparence workshop; painting/color workshops. 4th week—Workshop on conservation policy/management; intensive design workshops. Painting on plywood Aug: 5th week—Painting on plywood. 6th week—Finalize painting; aquatic workshop/fishing party; exit/assessment interviews with youth. 7th – 8th week—Muralists finalizes panels; City DPW install (permit with Mass Highways). Past Successes The success of the program is that we are able to continue working with SHA residents. We are able to provide them jobs. We have worked with families with multiple siblings. The mural itself provides needed recognition for the river, the community and the residents. The SHA mural alumni continue to make an impact on the program and other youth. Deja Williams, a Bowdoin College graduate, returned to the program several years ago to inspire younger youth about her life. She is a great resource for other kids. Resident Need This program provides residents with needed summer jobs. It also provides a way in which youth from various ethnic backgrounds can work together toward a common goal. The program also provides residents with a program where they learn about mural design, public art, and environmental education.

3 Program differentiation No other program offers all the services we provide—public art, mural design, environmental education, and summer employment. It is for this reason that the program is popular with youth. Community Collaboration: The project attracts much attention within the community-at-large. The project is a source of pride within the SHA & city. The project is supported by many organizations and businesses that volunteer their expertise or provide resources for the program. Existing resources include our annual collaborations with: The Mystic Learning Center & Activity Center to recruit youth and provide the indoor space for mural development; Umass Extension 4-H and Family Development Program to provide aquatic wildlife workshops; Mystic River Watershed Association to provide flora and fauna identification walks; Paddle Boston provides access to boat house and canoe rentals for our trips; the Medford Historical Society for workshops on the cultural history of the river; and City DPW to provide installation assistance. II. Describe the population Mystic Mural Project intentionally recruits 7-10 low income youth from 14 to 20 years of age from the Mystic Housing Development and/or SHA developments, with the remainder from East Somerville. The youth generally reflect the demographics of the Mystic Housing Development and East Somerville. Despite COVID, in 2021 we worked with nine youth providing a full summer of diverse engagement. They girls came from African- American, Hispanic, Haitian-American, Chinese, Portuguese, and White families. The 2021 summer was a very positive one. III. Describe how you plan to recruit We utilize an application process to recruit youth. These applications are given to adults program supervisors at the following agencies; MLC, MAC, SPS art teachers, Teen Empowerment, and the City’s Summer Jobs program. We typically receive between 18-25 applications. We interview all applicants and ask that they bring their art portfolios. In this way, even if we cannot provide them employment, we are able to review their work and provide feedback. For many the act of interviewing for a job is a first, which will provide them a positive experience. This provides all youth with a positive, professional experience concerning their work. We strive to enroll a balance of youth from different ethnic groups and gender. IV. Budget; other funding and commitments The Somerville Arts Council requests $3,000 from the Somerville Housing Authority in order to insure that youth from the Mystic Housing/SHA Development will be able to participate in this year’s Mystic Mural Project.

4 EXPENSES IN-KIND SERVICES Muralist 190 hrs total x $40/hr = $7,600 6 Workshops by Service Organizations @ $150/wkshp = $900 Environmental Education Coordinator 50 hrs. x $30/hr. = $1,500 Youth Stipends 10 Youth x 20 hrs/wk x 6 wks. x $15.00/hr. = $18,000 Use of Workspace at Mystic Learning Center = $400 Program Supplies (panels, paint, brushes, sketch books) @ $3,200 DPW Installation 2 Workers @$50 hr x 5 hrs = $500 Total = $30.300 Total =$1,800 Matching Funding: For summer 2022 the project expects the following support: SHA grant will be matched with Somerville Arts Council municipal and revolving account support for approximately: $27,300 Foundations, corporations, city government, and individual donations have provided additional support for the Mystic Mural Project over past twenty four years: Massachusetts Environmental Trust, the Community Development Block Grant, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Sidore Foundation, the New England Grassroots Environmental Trust, and ERI. As always, we will be seeking numerous sources of support to provide essential matching funds. Reporting and Meeting Commitment: Reporting Commitment: the Somerville Arts Council will provide the SHA with required quarterly reporting on a timely basis. Committee Meeting Commitment: the Somerville Arts Council will attend Resident Services Committee Meeting(s) to update members on the progress of the Project.