A significant portion of Milwaukee’s teens are not being adequately prepared to successfully transition out of high school and into becoming productive contributors to our communities. At the same time, Milwaukee businesses continually express their need for a workforce that can come to the job and demonstrate basic employability skills that will contribute to the organization’s success.
ArtWorks for Milwaukee hires and pays an hourly wage to a group of teenage Interns for each of its programs, and they work with a local, trained Lead Artists to create community-based art projects. This collaboration uses an art project, complete with a budget, deadlines, and performance reviews, to teach its teen Interns valuable job and life skills. Teens who participate in ArtWorks' programs build a genuine work ethic, are provided mentor relationships and develop the identified skills necessary to succeed no matter what career direction they choose to pursue.
ArtWorks exclusively targets Milwaukee County teens that already face barriers to employment:
Teens that underperform in High School - These students have low GPAs and/or may drop out, despite having the capacity to graduate. At ArtWorks, we teach them that earning a high school diploma is crucial to building a future of success.
Teens with disabilities - We teach our Interns to overcome employment barriers inherent to misperceptions about their abilities.
Teens that lack community connections - These young people, through no fault of their own, lack access to employment networks needed for success. At ArtWorks, we provide our Interns mentoring opportunities with ArtWorks’ staff, Lead Artists, and volunteer Career Coaches that can open doors for them and increase their chances of future success.
Our approach Inspires Creative Change within the individual that leads to a manifestation of positive and productive vitality that is released into the community.
