The 10th anniversary event took place on May 6, 2022, in Columbus, where we started 10 years ago. It was hosted by Columbus Metropolitan Library and featured Columbus-based author, artist, filmmaker, educator and mentor Donte Woods-Spikes and Jackie Calderone, founding director of multidisciplinary youth arts and mentoring program TRANSIT ARTS, plus an expert panel of new and seasoned teen librarians, and small group conversation on aspirations and challenges in the wake of the pandemic.
Resources:
A Safe Library Space: a video created for Take 5 by Donte Woods-Spikes with teens and workers at the Parsons Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
TRANSIT ARTS Resources for Libraries: videos, websites, background information, and the Creative Dream of Your Life activity shared at the event.
Ohio Collection Analysis Initiative: a self-paced set of tools for considering collections that empower children and teen readers by respecting and appreciating their differences and similarities. Available to Ohio library staff at no charge.
Featured speakers:
Donte Woods-Spikes is known for various forms of work including professional speaking which landed him on the TEDx Stage and multiple conferences. His first book, So. Long.: Unfinished Good-byes With The Children of COVID-19, explores the effects of the pandemic on children. His community work includes projects such as A Talk With Our Sons and Empathize With Me which explores social issues and personal narrative through interviews. His documentary work includes films As a Matter of Black (Sundance FIlm Festival), Donte and Day’Mariah (Best Documentary, Columbus Black International Film Festival), The Untold Story of Walt Neal, and Learning to Live Again. Donte’s overall goal is to educate and connect the world beyond perceptions and stereotypes with authentic experiences through storytelling and documentation.
Jackie Calderone is the founding director of TRANSIT ARTS and was previously the Director of Education for the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts where she founded the CAPACITY Youth Arts Program. Calderone’s passion for community-based arts was sparked during her seven years at the Ohio Arts Council where she coordinated the Dance and Jazz Music programs. She has been honored with numerous awards including the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Community Arts Partnership Award for Arts Educator and the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education’s Virtuoso Award. She has served on a variety of National Endowment for the Arts funding panels and has designed and led workshops for organizations including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The National Performance Network, The Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance USA, and many more.
TRANSIT ARTS is a Columbus-based, citywide network of artists, spaces and resources where central-city youth, ages 12-21+, are deeply engaged in leadership, multi-disciplinary arts workshops, performance and exhibit opportunities, employment, and entrepreneurial enterprises. Programs are free to youth and provide sanctuary and inspiration to dream — accompanied by the necessary tools to realize those dreams. TRANSIT ARTS is a program of Central Community House, in partnership with The Columbus Federation of Settlements, The Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, and a host of artists and organizations throughout Central Ohio and beyond.
Educational Outcomes:
- Participants will learn about strategies for engaging and empowering young people and elevating and honoring their creative work.
- Participants will consider timely, critical topics in service to young people including reconnecting with and supporting teens after 2+ years of pandemic conditions; inclusive programming; outreach; use of space; overcoming barriers; and more.
- Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and discuss their relationships with their teens, their workplaces, and themselves and to envision the future of these relationships.
- Participants will experience ways in which the arts provide empowerment, inspiration, and sanctuary for young people.
- Participants will expand their network of peers and allies across libraries, schools, and other youth-serving establishments, for support, resources, advice, and encouragement.
- Participants will take away renewed enthusiasm, affirmation, and ideas to enhance their programs and services.
Support:
This event was made possible by Columbus Metropolitan Library, the iSchool at Kent State University, and the Take 5 planning team:
Brie Haag, Loudonville Public Library
Kelsey Holmes, Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library
Janet Ingraham Dwyer, State Library of Ohio
Erin Kelsey, State Library of Ohio
Mary Anne Nichols, The iSchool at Kent State University
Dierric Rogers, Worthington Libraries
Jennifer Wiezbiski, Columbus Metropolitan Library
This event was also supported in part by federal Institute of Museum and Library Services funds, granted through the State Library of Ohio.