Art to Action





Creativity and education are central to the mission of Flobots.org. Through the Art to Action Outreach Program, Flobots.org develops education programs that use the arts to educate, inspire and activate a wide range of youth.

Incorporating music, spoken word, songwriting, instrumentation, videography and other mediums, Art to Action programs help young people develop leadership skills and heightened social awareness while creating original works of art. Students work closely with professional artist mentors to build skills as well as a brighter vision for the future.

The Flobots.org A2A program is led by members of the band Flobots as well as a network of educators, community leaders, artists and musicians. Our programs are designed to enhance 21st Century Learning activities in and outside of the classroom.

If you would like more information about bringing Flobots.org to your school or community program, please email laura@flobots.org, Executive Director of Programs and Partnerships.

SCHOOL PARTNERS

  • Skinner Middle School
  • Cole Arts and Science Academy
  • Rachel B. Noel Middle School
  • Place Bridge Academy
  • Lake International School
  • Bruce Randolph School
  • East High School.

Your donations can help bring Music Mentors to these schools! Click here to learn more.

Flobots.org currently works with Denver Public Schools and a network of Beacon Neighborhood Centers to provide after-school programs to sixth, seventh and eighth graders across the city. We also work with community partners including the Denver Children’s Home and the African Community Center.

Music Brings Community Together at Kepner Middle School

Music Brings Community Together at Kepner Middle School It was a cold night in Denver, but the energy was high in the cafeteria at Kepner Middle School in Southwest Denver. All eyes were fixed on the video screen at the front of the room: Students laughed and clapped as they watched an original music video, created entirely by students in the Flobots.org Art to Action after-school program at Kepner. Over the course of six weeks this fall, more than thirty seventh and eighth graders worked with professional songwriters, musicians, poets, rappers and videographers to create their own works of art. “Flobots class was the most fun thing I did all year,” said eleven-year old Eduardo, who discovered a talent for writing poetry and was ready to try his hand at drums. Fun is a big part of what the Flobots.org Art to Action program brings into the lives of youth across Metro Denver. Using poetry and spoken word, hip-hop, videography and visual art, Art to Action instructors challenge students to learn new skills in a safe, creative environment. Working individually and collaboratively, students are encouraged to explore and share their stories in new ways. “The students get so excited when it’s time for Flobots.org class,” says Frank Gonzales, Kepner’s principal. “It’s brought something fresh and new to our school that the students are really responding to.” Flobots.org’s Art to Action after-school programs take place between 3-6 pm, the critical period when students are faced with tough decisions about how to spend their time. After- school programs provide an inspiring option to young people, many of whom have limited experience with the arts. Young people who participate in arts-based education do better in high school and are more likely to go to college, which is why our community partners –including the Mayor’s Office of Education and Children, the Yess Institute and Catholic Charities– work with Flobots. org to make cutting-edge programs available to young people of all walks of life.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Flobots.org partners with community organizations to create all kinds of fun stuff, from the Larimer Sidewalk Arts Festival to performances.

Larimer Sidewalk Arts Festival


There is Nothing Poetic Here

Check out this video from “There is Nothing Poetic Here,” a collaboration between Flobots.org, the Museo de las Americas, the 2010 Biennial of the Americas and Bridges Without Borders, a group of middle-school students who had recently returned from a tour of Israel and Palestine. We worked with the students to shape poems they wrote about their experience. The poems were then shared with the public. See it here:


Meet our Art To Action Partner Artists

PHOTO GALLERY


TESTIMONIALS

“This is one of the most impressive expressions of the realities on the ground in Palestine that I have ever seen. These students are remarkable in their grasp of the situation in Israel and the West Bank and the beautiful way they give life to the images they have encountered.” – Viewer response to “There is Nothing Poetic Here”

“Our students have really responded to [Art to Action instructor] Adrian Molina and what he brings to our programs. Adrian has been able to engage the students to not only think introspectively about their lives and their community, but he’s also given them tools to express those thoughts in a way builds their self esteem, leadership skills and community awareness. In addition, Adrian’s presence provides our students with a strong Latino male role model, which is particularly valuable in our neighborhood.” – Cody Buchanan, Mi Casa Resource Center

“It can be easy for people to see the work that we’re all doing in schools as offering a ‘program or a service.’ For me it’s about the larger vision of impacting change and creating a more conscious and community minded youth movement in the Denver area. It is a blessing to know and work with others who share a similar mindset, and to be continually be building towards a vision that is ever expanding and bigger than any of us alone.” – Corbin Tobey-Davis, Cole Arts & Science Academy

“The Flobots.org Music Class allows the kids to be more deeply and more meaningfully involved in the music they listen to – to know the basics of rhythm, harmony, melody, song structure, development and production. Perhaps most importantly, the Flobots program helps kids to develop positive relationships – with music, with the music instructors and with the world around them.” – Rainer Franke, MA, LPC, CAC II, MT-BC, Music Therapist, Denver Children’s Home