 Hello, everyone. I'm James Milan. Welcome to this episode of Talk of the Town. I say this every time, but it's really true that it's one of my favorites of our kind of regular programs that we produce here, and it is the ACA Update. ACA, of course, is the Arlington Center for the Arts, and I am joined as I always am for these updates. Thank goodness. My name is Tom Formicola, who is the head of the Arlington Center for the Arts, and Tom has brought another staff member. We've started this the last time by bringing Pam Shanley, and that worked out great, and today we have Kat Bodwin, who is the Education and Programs Director for the ACA. So, first of all, Tom, Kat, thanks so much for being here. Thank you. Thanks for having us. So, let's talk about what's going on at the ACA, and we want to have the focus, of course, with you being here, Kat. We want to take full advantage and find out about all things educational, which I know is a big part of your agenda and the service that you provide for the community. But let's start before we delve deeper into that. Let's just start with a new exhibit that I understand is just being prepared as we speak and is going to be unveiled pretty soon. Literally just being prepared. We had artists stopping in all morning long today to drop off work that we're going to be showcasing in this next show, which opens on March 3rd, I think. Do you want to tell us what it's all about, Kat? Yeah, the show's called Integrated Cycles. It's an artist's response to our changing environments. The show's major ethos is speaking about our connectedness with the systems that are around us, the animals that are around us, the species that are around us, and artists really thinking thoughtfully about our place within the environment as well as our place for generations to come. So, this current exhibit is getting installed. There's some two-dimensional pieces. There's some three-dimensional pieces, and there's some larger installations, which our camp kiddos are going to help with creating. And then also, the artists who are exhibiting are also going to have an opportunity to teach the community at large through adult classes, teen classes, kid and family classes as well. We should mention that it's being curated by our board member Emily Bells. Did I say member? Board member Emily Bells. And we're able to do this project because of a grant that we received from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, who I know have been quite active in these last couple years. Very supportive in the last couple years. And in general, of course, but especially given the circumstances we're all very familiar with. You know, I have an off-the-cuff question to ask that I didn't prepare you guys for, but what you were just saying, Kat, in describing the exhibit. I'm wondering, is this connected at all, or is it just coincidental, with the Arlington Reads program that the library is putting on, which also has to do with our connection with nature and the indigenous communities, etc. Is that just pure coincidence? As far as I know, it's pure coincidence. Yeah, it is. I mean, it's not coincidence in that everybody is interested in these issues right now. And I think lots of folks are exploring them in different ways. You know, Cecily Miller, who's our public art person over at the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture. Like in much of her work, she's exploring issues related to environmentalism. Absolutely. So, we're in good company. Yeah, and you're right. I mean, you can't get away from thinking about this, pondering, presenting, sharing, processing, all of this stuff, obviously, in our current, in the world, the way that it is right now. And with, especially with what we worry about and what we are faced with. So, excellent to hear about that. Let's talk, let's now kind of focus really on the educational offerings that you guys have in store for us over the next little while. And that begins with the classes that you offer, which are, you know, each, as the calendar unfolds, you have new sets of classes for each new term. So, tell us about the winter and spring classes. Yeah. So, as I mentioned, the art exhibit is going to be coming into our spring offerings as well. But we still actually have some winter classes that are unfolding now. We have some color theory workshops. We actually have a workshop that's all on foraging materials and creating sculptures out of them. Pastels class, digital drawing for teens, which is blowing up at this point. I'm so thrilled. So, we still have some offerings that are starting this winter semester. And the people can sign up for and do, or these are simply underway already in your describing. They can sign up for them now. Oh, is that right? They can go right to our website. We still have the winter catalog live, and we also have the spring catalog that is now live. And now people who are not just members, but also the public at large is able to register for our spring classes. That is excellent. Let me ask you about a particular initiative that Tom had, you know, kind of clued me into as we were preparing for today's talk. And that is the teen artists on the issues. So that sounds intriguing to me. Tell me about that, especially I also want to just follow up on the fact that what you were just saying about the digital class being like, like it's blowing up, like you said, teens are responding to this. So tell us about teen artists on the issues. Teen artists on the issues. This is our second iteration of the program. The first was visual arts based in painting, drawing, some kids brought in digital media. But this time we're doing an intensive focus on documentary filmmaking, much of the part of partnership with ACMI. So thank you to everybody working in the background here. So we're thrilled because that means that teens are going to have the opportunity to work with Michael Sheridan, who is a documentary filmmaker. His work has spanned from communities in the U.S. conversations around immigration in the U.S. borders to Haiti and even Afghanistan. So he's really well respected in those communities and we're so excited to bring him in to Arlington. So our teens who are participating, we already have five who are accepted and we're really thrilled. There's still some seats available. They'll have the opportunity to use your amazing tech that you have here. Learn from somebody who's been making documentary films in communities around the world and produce a short documentary film that is specific to the issues they're passionate about that are happening in Arlington. You know, I'm curious about what kind of time commitment that that is because obviously we know a little bit around here about how long it takes to master these both the equipment and the processes that are involved. So just is the class going to be a couple of hours a week for, I don't know, five, six, seven, eight weeks? I'm not actually sure. 10. Count them. 10 weeks. So last year we piloted this program, as Kat said, and we did like an intensive weekend. So this year we're really building it out based on the success of that program. So we're doing 10 weeks and the students will meet each week on Wednesdays. And then there will be Saturday time on Saturdays for them to actually go out like so Wednesday is like a learning day. And Saturdays are opportunities for them to go out and create. And are there any age limits for that? Are you focusing more on high schoolers perhaps or? Yes, 14 to 17 is the age range for this program. That's great. And and the real exciting piece, too, is that at the end of this project, we are going to do a public screening of all of the films created at the Regent Theatre. That sounds wonderful and also mighty similar to something that we do each year, the A-Town Teen Film Festival, which we will do again this year, which we've both been a part of actually. Exactly. Last time I was here. So one of the things that really drove us on this project is so we have this teen artist on the issues program. And it is likely that every year will change up the discipline. And we had an opportunity this year to work with a great artist, which is really what drove our selection of film as a theme. But you know, one of the things that is really important to us is to provide an opportunity for for teenagers to explore social justice and community issues that they really care about, and to understand how art can help them communicate their ideas, and then to provide opportunities to educate and inform the community about what our young people are thinking about the world that they live in, and the world that they're soon going to be leading. And I know from, you know, I think I've shared with you before, Tom, perhaps, but Kat, I taught in high school for 23 years before doing this job, and I still work with high schoolers and coach high schoolers all the time. And I know that one of the big preoccupations of that time of one's life is getting your voice heard, you know, just having people pay attention to what you think is important. And this is clearly yet another vehicle that you are providing for them to acquire some really just fun and potentially super useful skills, but also to end up with with a final product that is a representative of or is representative of their voices. And that is really empowering for young people. So that's a it's a wonderful thing to be able to do. I should mention again, that like this project really wouldn't be possible without grants that we received from the Robert and Tony Bader Foundation, as well as the Arlington Cultural Council, also known as the Arlington Commission for Arts and Cultural Grants Committee, which is a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which is a state agency. So you see how terrific the MCC is. I'll tell you what, MCC is loving us right now. And as is ACMI, thank you so much for your mention of the fact that we are collaborating around this with you and it makes all the sense in the world that we would and we're really psyched about it. We can't do this work alone. No. Yeah. And as you said, the discipline will change each year with this with this particular program of teen artists on the issues. And it's just wonderful that this year, there's a nice dovetailing of what you do and what we do, such as to be able to work together. That's great stuff. All right, so we are on the cusp. We're speaking to you in early to approaching mid February now. So we're just on the cusp of the first of two school breaks coming up. You guys usually offer vacation arts camps. Doing so this year and want to talk about it. Yeah, absolutely. So we are continuing to have vacation arts camp during February and April break as well as 10 whole weeks during the summer. Yeah, it's funny because that was mentioned, you know, a while back in our last update. And even then, there was a kind of like, yes, what are we doing? It really is funny. Like we finished this year on like September 3rd, our camp ended. And by like September 10th, we were already talking about next summer. I mean, it really is a year round. endeavor. Yeah, absolutely. It's almost hard to keep track of dates because you're already planning for the next year. But but yeah, so we still have some availability in our February and April break camps. We have an awesome Art Academy that is a more visual arts intensive program for kiddos in third grade up to fifth grade who really just want to own in on their skills. Our vacation arts camp is a solid program where we have kids involved in different disciplines. They kind of get a nice balance. Even if they don't see themselves as like a visual arts kiddo or performing arts kiddo. We also have ceramic programs and teen programs specific for painting and drawing as well as cartooning and animation. So there's still some availability in those programs. They're really robust at this point. They're they're selling nicely. So people are really ready to return to life again. It seems like I mean, it's the enrollments have been really healthy. People are are really excited to participate again. Yeah, we should we should actually it brings to mind the fact that one of the things that we spoke about with you and Pam last time was just making clear to people what the rules were in terms of masking and distancing, etc. So what's the story with the vacation arts camp and what you expect for the summer at this point? So our February and April camps will look a lot like the summer camps in the February and April camps we did last year. I mean, we're still very much, you know, aware of COVID and we're still very much taking our cues from the CDC and the state and the town. And and so we planned a camp for the winter and spring that still held close to what we had been doing. This summer will open up a little bit and the camp program will start to look a little bit more like the camp program that we did in summer's previous to COVID where the kids will have some more opportunity to like move around because they've been pretty much tied to a classroom for the last couple of years. So there will be more diversity of activities there will be like we're able to sort of re engage in some movement and theater exercises again. And so we'll be a little bit more balanced between performing arts and visual arts. But, you know, it's constantly evolving and summer is still pretty far away. But like if you right now we're still planning that, you know, if you're going to participate in camp, you've got to be fully vaccinated and you have to wear a mask. And we're taking our cues, as I said, from like the agencies out there that know best. Yeah, you know, maybe an interesting thing that you guys are going to be looking at is today's kind of big announcement from the governor that about students and masking and, you know, that the restrictions coming off at the end of February. So it'll be interesting. I mean, we were talking about that on the way on the drive here actually this afternoon. And you know, one of the things that we wondered out loud is, you know, certainly like towns will probably still have some ability to, you know, embrace the governor's decision or hold their own. And so it'll be interesting to see what we do in Arlington. And obviously that will have a really direct impact on what we do. Yeah, I mean, it is going to be my understanding is that it is going to be left largely to towns and school districts, etc. to decide how they how they want to to deal with this. But we know how things are here in Arlington in general and that the compliance with mass mandates and vaccination, you know, we know vaccination rates very high, etc. So I expect that people will be open to however it is that you guys are going to need to set things up to be most comfortable. You know, there's a spectrum, right? Like people are all and people are all along that spectrum of like what their comfort levels are. And, you know, you know, one of the things that we've pride in on ourselves is is being as respectful as we can of everyone along that spectrum, because people have different needs and different expectations of us. And we recognize that we can't satisfy everybody. But we're trying to make decisions that that work for most people. And then we're trying to be really mindful of the folks that that for whatever reasons aren't feeling comfortable. And and, you know, we're we're not forgetting about them. Mm hmm. Yeah, I mean, your the ACA's inclusiveness is well known and well, you know, and well deserved. And, you know, and again goes with the spirit of Arlington as well. You know, I'm thinking, Kat, that you were talking about the 10 weeks of summer camp. And again, you couldn't help, but I'd go. And I'm thinking, OK, in addition to the adults, you also rely on counselors, right? On kids older, older kids usually who will function as counselors who have a really pivotal role in the camps. I'm sure the vacation camps as well as the summer ones. And my understanding is that you have internships now being offered to train camp counselors. Is that is that what that is? That's correct. Yeah. So our counselors are pivotal and pivotal. Is that the right word? Thank you. Good word. Absolutely. And I like that word. They're they're so critical in our work that we do. They're compassionate, empathetic, they're really hands on in the classroom. A lot of our campers have had increasing needs coming out of isolation in the pandemic. And so making sure that our teachers are well supported in the classrooms and that our counselors feel empowered to help out our kiddos. It's just all comes down to safety and then also having a good time in our camps. And that doesn't happen out of thin air. So we've had the great opportunity to relook at our programs since the start of the pandemic and ask what's working? What's not? And how can we better support our staff? And from that came our internship. So we're providing training not only on how to support instructors with their arts lessons, but also social emotional learning skills, nonviolent communication, how to talk with parents, how to talk with kids, resume building, conflict resolution and so things that skills that our counselors are able to not only apply in the classroom, but also skills that they can take with them in social settings in the professional settings and then onward. Yeah, I mean, what you just described sounds like a very comprehensive curriculum to really prepare kids for a lot of different kinds of circumstances and a lot of different kinds of challenges. Probably some of them moving way beyond what they'll need to call upon to, you know, to handle a rowdy bunch of ACA youngsters, I would think. So that's a that is a super valuable offering, I would say. So what are the details about it? Yeah, so there is a they're welcome to apply now. We have a link on our website under our camp programs. There is an internship page that explains a little bit more in detail about the program. It's there's going to be three different cohorts, three different weeks. So this week long, the three weeks long each. So three cohorts of six kids, three weeks each. And at the end of the summer, we hope to have trained 18 teenagers. Gotcha. So they can find all that information, including the date ranges there, what a typical day would look like because they'll be pushing into the classrooms as well as having time to learn those skills with one on one. OK, so yeah, I want to make sure I understand this. So you're offering 10 weeks of summer camp in the summer. And then in addition to that, you have these three week stints for six up to six students each. And during those stints, they will not only be getting the kind of training and education you were talking about across a bunch of areas, but they will be work kind of some part of their time is actually putting all that into practice in the classrooms. Yep. And then upon successful completion of that program, they're eligible to work for us as full fledged counselors. That sounds great. And what's the age limit on that if there is 15 to 16 for that one? OK, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we're able to run this program. Because don't tell me because of the generosity of an anonymous donor, actually, because there's expenses associated with a project like this. You know, we have we have a teacher that will be focused on the advancement of those counselors. And and we you know, because these kids are giving us like a chunk of their summer, we're going to provide a small stipend to each of them who successfully complete the program. And so we have a community member who saw that we were doing this and was enthusiastic and said, I'd like to help you do that. That is, you know, Arlington is a cool place for store, you know, because of stories like that. And and also because of organizations like yours really who are clearly I am very impressed by what you've just described as the curriculum for this training, because you're not that this is just doing doing a service for these youngsters that goes way beyond what they're going to do for the summer and how well they'll do it this summer or next summer or however long they, you know, on camp counselors for because these these skills, like you said, conflict or conflict resolution and other such things, they are going to be able to apply that way beyond the summer. Yeah. And I'm really grateful. ACA has also helped grow me as an individual as well and help provide some training for me. And so I went to a training for a fantastic organization called One Common Unity that already integrated a lot of these skills into their programming. So I feel like it wouldn't be wouldn't be fair not to also attribute them for their amazing work that they also do with youth and arts and social emotional learning. So we have to give them a huge thank you as well. Man, bunch of shout outs today. I have to say anybody we're forgetting. You know, I'm just because you ask, you know, I, you know, you you can hear like all of cats like great sensitivity and intelligence on display. And you know, as I listen to you talk and I'm lucky to listen to you talk every day, I just feel so lucky to call cat a colleague. And you know, she has a lot of experience and just a lot of, you know, a lot of good instincts around these things. And you know, I don't have a lot of experience working directly with children. And you know, as as we go through the summer, I am very often calling on cat for advice and guidance, you know, as we are trying to do the best job that we can do by all the camp families. You know, I mentioned before that we're this is kind of like the winter quarter version of the ACA update. We tend to check in with you guys once per season. And before, you know, by the time we get to the spring version, we'll have, you know, some traditional ACA sponsored events that are staples in the Arlington calendar to talk about. And I know that you don't have any, you know, great number of details about say, Blue Gene Ball, porch fest, things like that that everybody associates both with life in Arlington and the ACA. But, you know, tell us what you can. All right. Well, we haven't sent out the Save the Date card yet, but it's coming soon for the Blue Gene Ball. And it's going to happen on April 30th. And we're back to an in-person format again this year. And we are planning to be at Arlington's new community center, which is the building that we inhabit. So we're super excited. We're we're going to be among the first groups, I think, to like sort of be welcoming people into that new space. Yeah, that's beautiful. They've done a beautiful job. It's a beautiful space. And I have to say, you know, having been to a number of Blue Gene Balls in the past, having it live and having everybody in their particular Blue Gene themed costume, so to speak, or, or, you know, what they're wearing anyway, is, you know, it's something of note. And it is definitely part of the whole of the festivities, for sure. You know, we'll have music again, great music and food and drink. And surely we'll have a silent auction and we'll give a community hero award. So people should keep their eyes and ears open, looking for details about that. And we will look to talk to you before that point. Great. And I know also we had mentioned even last time because even in November, when we spoke last, people are interested in the upcoming porch fest, whether it's going to be June 18th, all day long. The details of that will start to roll out in March. So in March, folks that are interested in hosting a band or bands that are looking for hosts should check our w w w dot a c a r t s dot org website and and look for how they can be involved this year. Great. So again, just to, you know, stay tuned and obviously the ACA will continue to deliver these events that again are such a big part of Arlington's annual calendar. So awesome. All right. Thank you both so much for joining us. Anything that we've should I check my forgotten anybody we've forgotten to thank or anything we've forgotten to mention. I think we got it all, James. All right. That's great. We actually covered your entire all your scribbles. I think we did. All right. Good. Excellent. And that came so we can close. I have, of course, been joined by Kat Bodewin and by Tom Formicola from the Arlington Center for the Arts for this ACA update. Thanks to you guys so much for joining us. Thanks to you for joining us as well. I'm James Milan. This is Talk of the Town. We'll see you next time.