Thank you for contributing funds for materials for after school arts classes at WMCAT. Devon, a high school senior, has taken several of these classes the last four years. His artisic work is featured at WMCAT and around the community.

On the outside east wall of WMCAT’s building in downtown Grand Rapids is a large mural created by professional artist Tracy Van Duinen and a team of WMCAT teen apprentices. The piece won 2nd Place in the 2011 ArtPrize public art competition. Devon worked on the piece, pouring cement, sculpting elements and placing tiles throughout.

He also participated in a WMCAT internship last summer in which he worked on a team to paint a mural at Goodwill Industries and create a site-specific sculpture as part of SiTE:LAB.

“I like to experience different things at WMCAT. It keeps me occupied and I like being creative,” Devon said.

He credits WMCAT with helping him set his sights on attending either Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University or the University of Michigan next fall to study drafting or engineering.

Thanks to supporters like you, J, Devon has another year of impactful classes at WMCAT.

Marissa is a high school student in Grand Rapids, Michigan who relies on journaling and photography to express herself. She explores art through after school classes twice a week at WMCAT.

“Everything in my art connects with me on a deeper level than just being two dimensional images.” she said.

Twice a year, Marissa displays her art to family and friends at the WMCAT Student Art Show. She recently showcased her photography skills through a series of self-expressive works. In her artist statement Marissa said:

“My favorite thing about photography, or really any creative process, is the freedom that comes with it. I love independence and I love nature. I also love to play with light and perspective while shooting.”

Thank you James for providing the materials for after school arts classes for urban teens like Marissa.

Being the oldest isn’t always easy for Annie. Four other kids, sometimes six, live at her house in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She comes to WMCAT twice a week for classes in fiber arts, portrait drawing and toy design to get a reprieve from that environment.

“Before WMCAT my mind was closed and shut off,” she recalled. “WMCAT has helped open me up.” She also said being at WMCAT with other students and teachers has helped her mellow out and handle anger. “I like hanging out with all the cool people I’ve met at WMCAT.”

A 12^th grader in high school, Annie is already dual-enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College, where she is studying psychology. She said she will really miss coming to WMCAT after she graduates. “School should be more like WMCAT,” she said. “This place is fun and engaging and a place where people want to come.”

Thank you UBS for providing Annie with the necessary materials for after-school classes so she can hang out, chill out and open up.

In middle school Amanda became addicted to photography. However, when she entered Union High School in Grand Rapids there were no art classes and no means of pursuing her passion for black and white photography. An older friend who had attended WMCAT told Amanda all about the great classes.

Today Amanda is a senior in high school who has taken four years of photography classes at WMCAT along with graphic design, drawing, t-shirt making, and print making. She is still addicted!

“I love the atmosphere here,” she said. “We all want to be here. We all love art and we’re all open to trying new things.”

In 2011 Amanda joined fellow WMCAT students and instructors on a college visit to Northern Michigan University. That visit introduced her to the possibilities of studying fine arts in college. She was accepted to three of the five universities to which she applied and is excited to begin her studies at Northern in the fall.

Four years of photography classes with WMCAT instructor Dennis Grantz have shaped Amanda’s talents and goals for the future.

“I look at Dennis like a father figure because I’ve had him as a teacher for four years,” Amanda said as she reflected on the impact WMCAT has had on her teen years.

She looks forward to the day she can open her own photography studio, specializing in black and white images. Your gift today toward WMCAT photography supplies for our teens will help Amanda and her fellow students create, inspire and visualize a great future after high school. Thank you!

Nicole is an enthusiastic, energetic senior in high school. While she does well in school, she is frustrated by the lack of after school activities or clubs at her high school. Programs like art have been cut from Grand Rapids schools over the years and there is no extra funding for extracurricular programs in arts or academics. In 10^th grade she discovered the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology, taking her first class in toy making.

“I love WMCAT,” she said. “It is the only consistent after school program I have. We don’t have art in school, but I do have this one place.”

Through WMCAT Nicole has taken classes in drawing, photography and fabric arts. She has visited colleges, experienced cultural events in Grand Rapids, attended the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp through a scholarship program, and worked as a paid apprentice on an award-winning public art project.

“The teachers here are like family,” she said. “They are really motivating. They boost me up. They have helped me develop myself as a grown up.”

In part through her experiences at WMCAT and her positive relationships with the instructors, Nicole is working toward big goals for her future. She will be attending Michigan State University in the fall, becoming the first person in her family to attend a four-year university and the first of four children to live more than an hour from home. She plans to join the Peace Corps and work toward a dream of helping children oversees through the application of technology.

Thank you for providing the funds for a semester of after school art and technology classes so that talented teens like Nicole can do great things in our world.

Melissa, a 10th grader from Grand Rapids, Michigan, is finishing her first year at WMCAT, where she has dived into classes in skateboard design, fiber arts, and black and white photography. She has also participated in two college trips with WMCAT staff and students. Both her brother and her sister attended WMCAT and told her about the program.

She loves it at WMCAT because she gets to create, use her hands, explore, and engage with her instructors and fellow students. This is important because Melissa attends a high school where the majority of her classes are online. She only spends two hours of her school day in front of a live teacher. She loves to learn, but doesn’t feel she is getting much out of high school. WMCAT is where she comes to learn.

“WMCAT is a place I can come and relax,” she said. “It’s like an art class. I like art, but I don’t have it at school. I love to be creative and learn different things.”

An energetic teenager, Melissa loves go-karts, traveling (she’s even been to Mexico), church, and spending time with family and friends. She plans to attend college when she graduates. Melissa has not narrowed down a career yet, but is interested in interior design, international business, and the medical field. WMCAT is helping her explore all her options and use creativity to access opportunity.

Thank you for supporting WMCAT and providing the materials for an after school art and design class for Melissa!

Jonathan was too shy to come to WMCAT when he first heard about the program from a friend in 9th grade. Today, he says WMCAT has helped him open up “like a turtle coming out of a shell.”

An 11th grader in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jonathan loves to doodle, hang out with friends and play music. He has been able to better express himself by coming to WMCAT. He has taken many classes including toy design, comic book illustration, and sculpting. Jonathan also participated in a summer project where he designed a juice bottle label for a local company, learning about marketing and branding. These are skills applicable to future careers.

Jonathan plans to attend Grand Rapids Community College and then transfer to Northern Michigan University to study film making. He learned about NMU while on a college visit through WMCAT.

“If it wasn’t for WMCAT I would have never learned about Northern,” he said. “They (WMCAT) have helped me learn more about myself.”

Thank you for supporting WMCAT and after school classes that help teens like Jonathan find their voice.

Amber is a ninth grader in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While this is her first year at WMCAT, she has wasted no time in jumping right in. Amanda heard about WMCAT through a visit to her school and she thought it sounded cool. She has taken photography and design classes.

“WMCAT gives me a chance to explore my options,” she said.

She loves photography and has learned different ways to manipulate photos for artistic expression. Next she wants to try her hand at skateboard design and t-shirt printing. WMCAT is giving her the freedom to explore, create and set goals. Her involvement in WMCAT, along with membership in her school’s GET Club (Girls Empowering Together), helps Amber connect with her community and set a vision for her future. This early in her high school career, she is thinking of studying either criminal justice or cosmetology after graduation. She has already visited Northern Michigan University on a WMCAT-sponsored field trip to explore college life.

Thanks to your support, Amber can continue to dream and explore at WMCAT.

“It (WMCAT) gives me something more academic to do after school instead of just going home and watching TV, ” she said.

Alex is a senior at Grand Rapids Public Schools’ Creston High School who carries a sketch book and draws whenever he’s not playing the guitar. He finds his high school loud and disruptive. There are no art classes at his school. His sister told him about WMCAT when he was in 9^th grade and today he comes twice a week for drawing and illustration classes.

“The people at WMCAT encouraged me to go bigger and move out of my comfort zone,” Alex said. “WMCAT has given me a better handle on life.”

WMCAT has given Alex the opportunity to experience the city of Chicago, visit colleges, and work as an apprentice on an award-winning public art installation.

“(The apprenticeship) was a legitimate job I can put on my resume,” he said.

Alex, who said he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life before, envisions a future as a freelance illustrator. He’s working on two detailed drawings for the WMCAT student art show and getting ready to graduate from high school.

Thank you for providing Alex with an art class at WMCAT. Your donation has helped Alex improve his artistic skills, find self-confidence, and set goals for the future.