Here's the update/info/clarification now that I actually know what the heck I'm doing. If you don't want to know the detail, you can skip this. I won't be offended. If you do like to know what's really going on, this is it.
I work at Sitar Art Center. Our mission is to serve low-income residents of our DC neighborhood with quality art classes including private music lessons, group music ensembles, visual arts, drama, dance, and creative writing. We have 300 students per semester and are hoping to grow to 500 per semester in our current space. Our goal is that 80% of our students would be from low-income families and pay very little for their classes. That usually equals about $15-30/family/semester/as many classes as they'd like to take. We define low-income as 60% of the area median income. We are funded my major donors and grants.
Our facility contains 2 art studios, 10 individual practice rooms, 2 ensemble practice rooms, 2 dance studios (one ballet and one wood-floor), a computer lab, an arts library, a gallery space, and a 85 seat intimate theater.
Our music classes include private lessons in piano, guitar, voice, cello, flute, violin, drums, electric guitar and bass, banjo, harp, clarinet, and saxophone. There is also currently a band called the Saints Band that incorporates a lot of these instruments and a percussion ensemble. All private lesson students must take music theory tutoring to learn to read and understand the basics of music. Students can also take computer-based music production classes.
Visual arts classes include watercolor, multimedia, pottery, collage, graphic design, web design, jewelry making, quilting, sewing & fashion design.
Dance classes include ballet (levels for children and adults), tap, African dance, capoeira (Brazilian martial arts/dance), and belly dancing. Yoga classes for children and adults are also available.
Drama classes include levels of acting, music theater, and stage combat. Each summer all the disciplines work together to put on a musical. The 2007 musical was You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. (I'll get to be around for the 2008 musical next summer.)
Creative writing classes include poetry, play writing, and short story writing.
We also have Early Childhood Music classes for parents and children together. These classes really stimulate early learning and cognitive skills. This is great for families where parents may have limited education themselves and may not know how help their students start succeeding in academics from the beginning.
This is just an overview of the classes that we're offering this semester. And I'm sure I'm forgetting some. The classes change each semester because all of our teachers are volunteers. (Perfect segue to the next section...)
Our 100+ volunteer teachers are mostly professionals in their fields. We have several amazing partnerships: Corcoran Gallery of Art's Artreach program, Washington Ballet, National Symphony Orchestra, Arena Stage theater group, the National Opera, to name the ones off the top of my head.
I am the Programs Intern. Lorriane, the Director of Programs, coordinates all the classes and volunteers, so I work under her mostly. I spend most of my day doing administrative work with processing volunteer information. It's nothing really interesting to write about here. What is interesting though, is participating in the meetings and discussions that evaluate the service we're giving to the community and how to run the organization better to better serve the community. My job may be un-revolutionary, but it is part of the structure that is making an impact. I'm learning a lot about working with a staff, management, synthesizing ideas, and cooperating effiently towards a common good.
I do get to work with the students some. On Wednesdays I do music theory tutoring for kids age 7-teens. On Thursdays I assist the intro-level art class for ages 6-8.
Please feel free to email me any questions you have about things I left out or didn't clarify.
[Coming Soon: a wrap-up on my Servant Leadership School classes for the 9 week fall semester]
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