Ink People has a longtime commitment to supporting at-risk youth by providing opportunities to discover their creative power and authentic voice. Through the Jump StArts program, youth in the Juvenile Justice System are provided artistic opportunities to discover their inner strengths and it enables them to change their communities in positive ways.
“For the past several years, I’ve been working with the youth at the Humboldt County Juvenile Detention Facility, teaching them drawing and spray painting.
More recently, through a partnership with Recology, we’ve started a project where the residents paint recycling dumpsters after completing my curriculum. Once finished, those dumpsters are returned to the streets, a small but meaningful way for the students’ work to be seen by the community rather than hidden behind the facility’s walls.
It’s been incredible to watch their sense of pride grow as they realize their art will be out in the world. They work harder, focus more, and carry themselves in ways that show how much this opportunity means to them. As their teacher, I can’t help but feel proud too, watching them evolve from complete beginners into genuine artists. That pride only deepens when I see the community’s response, which has been nothing but enthusiastic and supportive.”
- Matthew Oliveri, Jump StArts Mentor
With support from the California Arts Council, the Ink People facilitates five artists in Humboldt County's Juvenile Hall, Regional Center, Court Appointed Community Schools, and 2 more artists at the Ink People’s MARZ Project. Artists engage the youth in poetry and creative writing, Native American cultural values and arts, guitar lessons, digital music creation and composition, and mural design and painting in focused contact blocks over the course of a year.
Ink People has a longtime commitment to at-risk youth and providing opportunities to discover their creative power and authentic voice. They discover their inner strengths and it enables them to work on changing themselves and their communities in positive ways. One of our longtime partners in this work is the Humboldt County Probation Dept. For over 20 years, we have placed artists in their facilities and the MARZ Project has been a regular destination for youth on probation and their probation officers. The Dept personnel have expressed positive comments about the changes they see in the youth and consider the Ink People’s work with youth a model program.
Our five artists will offer drawing, mural painting, guitar, electronic music, poetry, creative writing, origami, and using art and Native culture as the medium for developing healthy lifestyles in Juvenile Hall, Northern CA Regional Center, Court & Community Schools and MARZ. Two additional artists will work in the MARZ Project, covering graphics and video production. Ananda (Matthew) Oliveri feels a rapport with at-risk youth through an innate rebelliousness and an understanding about feeling the irrelevance of institutions and restrictions. Cory Goldman’s easy going manner draws out reticent youth and helps find constructive outlets for anger through music. Jenny Downs works in the Regional Center, court school, and MARZ Project to help youth transition to more prosocial community involvement through poetry and creative writing. Julian Lang is a Karuk/Wiyot artist who has noticed that over half the youth incarcerated are Native American. He feels that helping them to discover their cultural roots eases their sense of dislocation in the world and he also teaches guitar and songwriting. Dave Isaacs is passionate about origami's S.T.E.A.M. Educational benefits and meditation efficacy.
We cannot change the environment the youth return to after their incarceration, but we can give them tools to see their challenges differently. We can give them different ways of dealing with situations that use a stronger sense of self, more self-assurance, and an understanding that they can communicate clearly and make good choices for themselves.