Arts Learning in Communities Model Program
PUSH for the Arts Summer Arts Camp:
A model for positive social change
We often see the phrase, “model program,” but what does it really mean? For the citizens of Antlers, Oklahoma, it means turning community challenges into opportunities. PUSH for the Arts Summer Arts Camp is unique because it was initiated to address the health risks and negative lifestyle choices facing youth in Pushmataha County. 18 diverse partnerships support the arts camp including the Oklahoma Department of Health, PUSH for the Arts Council, Pushmataha County Turning Point Coalition, Project PROMISE, Antlers Public Schools, local businesses and community-based organizations.
“For a rural community facing numerous challenges, we have managed to identify and pool our resources to develop and support an exciting summer arts camp for the youth in our region,” said Jerry Speck, program director for the Oklahoma Department of Health’s Youth Tobacco Prevention Program. For the past three years, The Missoula Children’s Theatre has traveled from Montana to lead the theatre component, and they are joined by numerous local artists to teach vocal music, dance, drawing and painting. More than 120 youth receive intensive, high quality arts instruction. “Teaching children to express themselves using the creative arts is an experience like no other. The biggest thrill of all for me is the culminating performance that we call the grand finale where the community literally embraces the youth and their new found skills,” said Speck.
The health initiative is an integral component of the summer arts camp and offers the community’s youth a unique way to learn about good nutrition and the negative effects of smoking and drug abuse. Transportation is provided by the camp to ensure that youth in surrounding communities have the opportunity to participate in the camp. A free breakfast and lunch is provided for the participants and hours of the camp are conducive to working parents.
Project PROMISE Abstinence Director Bettejane Wells said that the summer arts program continues to grow each year and has become an expectation of the community it serves. “Even our State Representative R.C. Pruett is actively involved in supporting the camp. No child is turned away due to inability to pay. Our summer arts camp provides opportunities for our children from all backgrounds to do something positive and creative with their talents and their time. We all need to support the arts. In doing so, we are telling our youth that we believe in them and value what they can be.”
The annual PUSH for the Arts Summer Arts Camp is funded in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council’s “Arts Learning in Communities” grant.
For more information, contact State Arts Learning Director Molly O'Connor.