ArtCenter/South Florida Announces Creative Care Program

By: Sep. 20, 2013
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Drawing on its 30-year legacy of leadership in community outreach, ArtCenter/South Florida announces Creative Care, its newest program to help children and families (in partnership with The Center for Literature and Theater at Miami Dade College and Miami Children's Hospital at the Michael Fux Family Center).

Artists with experience teaching children will provide free interactive art projects, storytelling and puppetry to youth undergoing medical treatments (plus their families). The program is designed to make art activities available to children who are confined in hospitals with limited mobility and no access to cultural programming or creative activities.

Funding for the new Creative Care program is provided by The Children's Trust and by The Miami Foundation.

Studies show the benefits of art activities for children in hospitals, because they relieve the anxiety and stress of medical treatments and alleviate the boredom of hospital stays by engaging the child's mind. These activities incorporate fine motor skills and complement physical therapies.

Because illness and treatment can be very distressing to children, parents, siblings and caregivers, families who are coping with serious medical treatments benefit by developing new expressive skills to utilize in the battles against depression and anxiety that can challenge healing and wellness during long-term medical treatments.

Creative Care will be free of charge to all patients and their family members. Two one-hour sessions per month will feature interactive storytelling, award winning children's literature, plus hands-on art projects exploring sculpture, printmaking, painting and drawing.

The program is led by Tammy Key (ArtCenter's Education Director); Pablo Cano(Cintas Award-winning puppeteer & teaching artist); Mij Byram (popular local storyteller), and teaching artist Jena Thomas.

"My own personal experience overcoming cancer as a young adult - and how I was able to use my art studies and creative expression to get through this difficult time - drives my passion for ArtCenter's programs to help children and families in need," said Tammy Key, ArtCenter/South Florida's education director.

"There is such a proven connection between art and healing," said the Director of Patient and Family Services & The Michael Fux Center at Miami Children's Hospital, Ms. Janet Bell-Taylor. "Engaging children who are in treatment for serious medical illnesses with the creative arts helps the entire family.

The evidence shows that art-based interventions are effective in reducing adverse physiological and psychological outcomes."

"Miami Children's Hospital is grateful to ArtCenter/South Florida for bringing this much-needed program to our child-patients and their families," said Bell-Taylor.

ArtCenter's Legacy of Leadership for Community Outreach

ArtCenter/South Florida is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, and is renowned for its rich history of local leadership in community outreach, and diverse regional programming. This includes previous programs that featured free weekly art classes to patients receiving treatment at Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami Beach and Memorial Cancer Institute in Hollywood, Florida (with funding provided by Wells Fargo and the Dade Community Foundation).

ArtCenter has also worked with at-risk youths through the Art Corps program and Miami Job Corps, providing free art lessons.

Thousands of underserved children ages 4-8 have benefited from ArtCenter's acclaimed StoryArts! art and literature programs at local libraries (also collaboration with The Center for Literature and Theater at Miami Dade College, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and Youth Enrichment Program).

Since 1986, ArtCenter has provided summer art camps for children ages 6-12, and adult art classes year-round
that utilize not only the drawing and painting studios, but also ArtCenter's new print lab, jewelry lab and darkroom facility (employing more than 50 local artists teaching a yearly roster of courses in nearly every artistic medium).

"As we enter our fourth decade of service to the community, ArtCenter's community outreach programming continues to grow," said ArtCenter's Executive Director, Maria del Valle. "These initiatives connect us to our community and are the cornerstone of our commitment to future generations - and to all who love art."

Tammy Key, ArtCenter/South Florida's Education Director: Tammy Key earned a BS in Visual Art from Florida State University. She has served the Education Department of ArtCenter/South Florida since 2001. Key oversees all programs for children's and adult education, plus community art programming and outreach.

This includes StoryArts! (an art & literacy program for 4-8 year olds serving families through the Dade County Public Library since 2006), and Art Corps (for young adults at Miami Job Corps).

In addition to her work teaching children and teens, Mrs. Key also developed innovative art therapy programming for patients at Mt. Sinai Cancer Center and Memorial Cancer Institutes. She is developing Creative Care, a new program that will provide art classes to patients and patient family members at Miami Children's Hospital's Michael Fux Family Center.

About ArtCenter/South Florida and Creative Care: The cultural epicenter of South Beach's Lincoln Road, ArtCenter/South Florida welcomes more than 100,000 visitors every year and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014. The mission of ArtCenter/South Florida is to support the artists and advance the knowledge and practice of contemporary arts and culture in South Florida. ArtCenter creates opportunities for experimentation and innovation, and encourages the exchange of ideas across cultures through residencies, exhibitions, outreach and education. Since its founding in 1984, ArtCenter has been home to more than 1,000 resident artists. ArtCenter also offers over 100 studio and artist development classes per year at its South Beach location and satellite venues. More information is available at 305/674-8278 and artcentersf.org.

Creative Care is a collaboration between ArtCenter/ South Florida and Miami Children's Hospital's Michael Fux Family Center. Creative Care is presented with the support of The Center for Literature and Theatre at Miami Dade College and the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation. The Creative Care program is made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Creative Care is funded by The Children's Trust and the Miami Foundation. The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.



Videos