Where in Springfield, Ohio could you got to see floating houses, rainbow birds in graduation caps, and eyes watching you, all in the same room? Project Jericho YouthVOICE, an art exhibit on the Hopes and Trails of nineteen local teens, opening last Friday night at Wittenberg University’s Koch Hall was that place. The room was packed not only with imagery of the teens who’d just completed a six-week long project, but with the community members interested in discussing their art and reading their statements as well. The sounds of jazz (by Clark State Faculty member Doug Toles) drifted throughout the building as over 100 people shard the hopes and trials of the project J teens on Friday, October 12th, 2007.

This event was the culmination of a six-week module for teens. Titled YouthVOICE, it was an exhibition of visual art and writing which the youth worked on every Wednesday beginning September 5th. The lead artist for this project was Witt professor Jack Mann (who also led our sculpture project in 2005) and the assistant artist was a senior art major Eric Bess. There were also several Wittenberg student, Faculty, and staff volunteers who helped this to happen.

Throughout the six weeks, participants were given their own studio in Koch Hall as well as a “cubby” in which they could keep their own sketchbook and drawing supplies. Each week they worked on sketching and initial large drawings, often working one-on- one with Witt students to develop how to illustrate their world for the community to see.

Both the Springfield and Wittenberg communities joined together in this process- to an inspiring end: Friday’s arts exhibit opening was attended by over 100 patrons, community members, and students, and we consider it as a success all around! The art show will be open in the first floor gallery at Koch Hall through the end of the semester.

The 19 youth who participated in this project were able to take away not only their own sketchbooks and pencils as well as an album photo-journaling their creative process, but also the valuable memory of a working college environment and the personal relationships made over this six-week period. As teens who may sometimes struggle to be heard, they were also very proud to be honored as the artists at Friday’s reception, with their Voice exhibited for the entire community to hear

Project Jericho teens and one PJ family volunteered at the 2007 Culture Fest in downtown Springfield on Saturday September 22nd in the children’s activity booth. This year’s activity was friendship bracelets, and each child attending the booth made 2 bracelets: the first one to donate to an elderly patient or child in need, and the second one to keep. Youth Focus Group members helped the young children to choose beads, yarn or ribbon, and to create their bracelets with a written message attached. Over thirty bracelets were created to donate, and Project Jericho intends to give the first group of them to homeless children served by Interfaith Hospitality, when Project Jericho families in the “Someones in the Kitchen with Mommy” module serve dinner to the Interfaith families in October. Children’s booth patrons also received a coloring page created by Project Jericho depicting children holding hands and the phrase “Art  Weaves Us Together.”

Project Jericho invited youth from ages 8-17 to join the Bucket Band, which began practicing in September as two groups. Youth performed as a community service in the Culture Fest, Saturday September 22, 2007 to an enthusiastic crowd. One audience member told Project Jericho staff afterwards, “I never knew that music could come from household items such as buckets, like that. I am amazed!”

Five promising youth writers from Project Jericho had the opportunity, thanks to Project Jericho scholarships, to attend a one-day writers workshop at Antioch University on September 15, 2007. The workshop was led by dynamic poetry and spoken work performers Climbing PoeTree (Alixa and Naima an emotionally charged poetic duo) from New York, who say, ” Creativity is the antidote for violence and destruction. Art is our most human expression, our voice to communicate our stories, a force to bring diverse peoples together, a tool to rebuild our communities, and a weapon to win this struggle for universal liberation.” Workshop attendees also had the chance to stay for a free performance of Climbing PoeTree and many other poets. As well as getting to add a square of “life” into a quilt that Alixa and Niama travel with to each of their workshops which represents the stories of our world and real life.

Project Jericho held a work youth workshop, due to the irresistible opportunity to work with a harmonica virtuoso  from a professional performing group…. who was only 14 years old!!! On Friday September 14th, 2007 the Clayton Miller Band performed in the Kuss Auditorium as the first Clark State event of the 2007-2008 series. The band is comprised of 3 brothers and their father. L.D, the youngest brother, is 14 years old and plays the harmonica like a genius! Seventeen project Jericho youth attended the workshop, which began with a brief over view of the harmonica’s history given by DJFS worker Mickey Tyler, an avid harmonica historian and collector. Participants each received their own harmonica and participated in a very fun hour-long instruction and jam session with L.D. Miller from the Clayton Miller Band. It was inspiring to the teenage participants that someone so young had pursued his talent in the arts and was successful! The workshop ended with a jam session that included Michael Kelsey, the Clayton Miller Band, youth participants, and PJ staff performing ad-lib harmonica and guitar on the Kuss stage. Youth had the chance to perform on stage and then recieve Project Jericho complimentary tickets to return as an audience member for the evening show.