After School Matters Debuts Shaping the Future, a New Art on theMART Projection Showcasing Works Created by Chicago Teenagers

November 30, 2021

The project culminates After School Matters’ 30th-anniversary celebration by putting a spotlight on teen-created mosaics, dance performances, and original music on the world’s largest permanent digital art projection

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CHICAGO – After School Matters®, the nation’s largest and most successful provider of after-school and summer programs for high school teens, closed out its 30th-anniversary celebration this year with a new public art projection project with Art on theMART entitled Shaping the Future that premiered on Friday, November 26.

In commemoration of 30 years of empowering local youth to explore their talents and shape their futures, After School Matters engaged local artist and educator Lisa Glenn Armstrong to create a projection for Art on theMART documenting the creative work of Chicago teens over the last three decades.

Art on theMART is the largest permanent public art projection in the world, showcasing contemporary artwork across the 2.5-acre river-façade of theMART.

“Shaping the Future celebrates visual art, dance, and music created by teens in After School Matters programs—past and present,” said artist Lisa Glenn Armstrong who animated and directed the project. “The process for animating and weaving together these teen-created works were led by conversations with After School Matters teens over the summer. The artists’ voices and direction were essential in our mission to showcase and represent this work on the incredible canvas of Art on theMART.”

The five-minute piece includes photographs of teen-created mosaics currently found in public art murals across the city, animated clips of past performances by the After School Matters Dance Ensemble, Hi-Def Dance Ensemble, and M.A.D.D. Rhythms, and music composed by teens in After School Matters’ Future Music Creators in a remote program in 2020.

“Shaping the Future is the culmination of our 30th-anniversary celebration. More than 350,000 teens from across Chicago have taken part in our programs and have gone on to shape amazing futures. We’ve spent this last year not just reminiscing, but reconnecting with alumni and hearing first-hand the positive impact our programs had on their lives over these past three decades,” said After School Matters CEO Dr. Mary Ellen Caron. “We are appreciative to our great partners at Art on theMART, and hope all who experience Shaping the Future take in not just the incredible talents of Chicago teens, but also what an asset they are to shaping a bright future for Chicago.”

Shaping the Future is part of Art on theMART’s winter program series, which includes the return of Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Harmonic AI by Ouchhh Studios. The series runs nightly through December 30, shown at 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. each night. Viewing Art on theMART is free and best experienced from the jetty section of the Chicago Riverwalk along Wacker Drive between Wells and Franklin Streets, where accompanying audio can be heard clearly. For more information, visit: afterschoolmatters.org/shaping-the-future and artonthemart.com.

Shaping the Future is generously supported by Clayco, and Art on theMART is presented in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE).

History and Impact of After School Matters

Under large white tents on an undeveloped downtown block in the summer of 1991, 260 teens apprenticed with professional artists and earned a monetary stipend for their work. The brainchild of then Chicago First Lady Maggie Daley and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Lois Weisberg, Gallery 37 proved popular and successful with teens eager to learn from caring adults who were experts in their field. Thirty years later, After School Matters has engaged more than 350,000 Chicago teens and offers paid program opportunities in the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM in every neighborhood of Chicago.

Today, After School Matters programs are offered in all 77 neighborhoods of Chicago at a variety of sites in schools, parks, community centers, libraries, and more through nearly 200 community organizations, as well as in three flagship buildings designed specifically for Chicago teens: Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, The Michael and Karyn Lutz Center for After School Matters, and After School Matters at Gately Park.

In 2021, approximately 19,000 teens took part in After School Matters programs through a mix of remote and in-person opportunities in the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM and earn a stipend for their participation.

In response to the pandemic, After School Matters re-envisioned its in-person program delivery model to provide remote learning programs to teens in Chicago, while also distributing technology and thousands of meals to those in need.

Multiple independent studies have confirmed teens who participate in After School Matters earn higher Freshmen On-Track rates, improved school-day attendance, and higher graduation rates than their peers. A recent report by the American Institutes for Research found that after teens participated in After School Matters remote programs during the pandemic, they reported:

• feeling more hopeful about their futures,
• a strong sense of belonging in their programs which contributed to lower stress,
• and they experienced significant gains in skills (both content skills like coding, dance, etc., and 21st-century skills, like communication and problem solving).

The organization serves as a leader in its field, with no other organization offering quality programs to high school students at such scale. Since its inception, the After School Matters model has been replicated with more than 30 organizations all over the world, including programs in the U.S., U.K., and Australia.

 About Art on theMART

Art on theMART is the largest permanent digital art projection in the world, projecting contemporary artwork across the 2.5-acre river-façade of theMART. This expansive permanent piece of public art continues Chicago’s legacy of providing both residents and visitors with exceptional art that is both free and accessible to all. Projections are visible to the public from Wacker Drive and along the Chicago Riverwalk, with accompanying audio available on the jetty section of the Riverwalk.

The program content rotates seasonally and is selected with the assistance and expertise of the Curatorial Advisory Board. The City of Chicago and theMART work in partnership to manage and curate the projected artwork over the course of a 30-year agreement. Privately funded by Vornado Realty Trust, owner of theMART, Art on theMART marks the first time a projection of its size and scope is completely dedicated to digital art with no branding, sponsorship credits or messaging. The permanent projection system illuminates theMART with 34 state-of-the-art projectors totaling almost one million lumens. For more information, visit www.artonthemart.com.

 

 

 

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