ARTS EDUCATION
Arts + Public Life Education offers in-depth arts programming to Chicago South Side youth cultivating creativity, social development, and leadership while inspiring them to find and create their places in the world.
We offer year round paid programming in the spring, summer, and fall located on the Arts Block. We are currently accepting applications for the Spring 2025 term
ARTS + PUBLIC LIFE TEACHING ARTISTS
-
![]()
Ebere Agwuncha
Education Programs Manager
Transdisciplinary artist whose practice seeks to reach the natural depths of memory that hands carry through lineage. She dreams alongside the archives of the black diaspora, crafting architecture(s) for the world to embrace through igbo rituals, meditation, touch, and intimacy.
-
![]()
Aisha Romer
Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP)
Aisha is an interdisciplinary artist from the Southside of Chicago and is a 2023 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). As an alumnus of the Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP), Aisha is passionate about highlighting the beauty and wonder of Chicago through a variety of mediums. Her work is rooted in a deep appreciation for her hometown, blending visual art, storytelling, and other forms to create a unique narrative that captures the spirit of the city. Aisha's creative approach invites audiences to see Chicago through a fresh, imaginative lens.
-
![]()
Josué Esaú Romero Velasquez
Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP)
Artist working through sculpture, archiving, and various media to confront the implications of being undocumented in the US, searching for ways to ground safety, home, and legacy for himself and the communities he loves.
-
![]()
Simone Scigousky
Teen Arts Council (TAC)
Simone Athena Scigousky (She/They) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Logan Square. After graduating from SAIC in 2022 with a B.F.A.A.E, Simone has taught visual art at Walter Payton College Prep High School and currently teaches her art activist program, Printmaking & Protest, at Gallery 37 through After School Matters. Simone's ideal educational environment is one where students are encouraged to experiment, explore, and ultimately express themselves. Collaboration, communication, and community are the cornerstones of their pedagogy. In her own artistic practice, Simone enjoys intuitively playing with color, mark, and form through collage, mixed media, fiber art, painting/drawing, and sculpture.
-
![]()
Devonte Washington
The Back Stage Production (BSP)
Born and raised on the southside of Chicago, Devonte remains committed to supporting southside communities. In addition to his teaching of BSP, he has served as a Stage Manager, Sound Designer, Lighting designer, Projections Designer, and Crew on productions in Chicago and nationally.
-
![]()
Razor Wintercastle
The Back Stage Production (BSP)
Educator, artist, and a long time backstage production crew member. Razor has worked and toured locally and internationally with concerts, films, plays, cruises, expos, and dance companies. She also mentors youth to get more involved working backstage.
Are you a teen looking for creative paid opportunities?
〰️
Are you a teen looking for creative paid opportunities? 〰️
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS
Backstage Production Program (BSP)
BSP is an apprenticeship opportunity that provides South Side Chicago youth an introduction to the fundamentals of theater production while giving them hands-on experience in audio and lighting design, sound engineering, and stage management.
Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP)
This apprenticeship cultivates teens’ creativity, social development, and leadership, and inspires them to make a positive difference through careers in the arts. Teens work in teams to create a community-based design project that responds to a local need, build their project in the woodshop using hand tools and power tools, and support other local build projects.
Teen Arts Council (TAC)
The Teen Arts Council collaborates with the University of Chicago Arts + Public Life initiative to develop creative skills, leadership experience, and opportunities for other teens to engage with the arts. The Council members work with university staff and local partners to develop projects, workshops, and public events for various audiences. Teens learn skills in arts administration, community engagement, event planning, and related areas.
Applications for TAC and DAP will open on January 21st. Click here to be notified when applications are available!
For more information contact ebere agwuncha, Education Programs Manager
Teaching Philosophy
We believe in the power of student voice. We lead programs that are learner-centered and process-driven in order to amplify these voices.
Our project-based approach allows students to respond to real-world demands while learning from their lived experiences and their peers.
We conduct continuous assessments to evaluate and enhance program quality and meet the needs of students and educators.
Artistic + Creative Growth
Community Action + Vision
Leadership Capacity
Professional Experience
PEDAGOGICAL VALUES
APL’s Youth Education Department offers four programs in Design, Theater, Theater Production, and Arts Leadership for teens ages 14-21, and takes an integrated, process-based approach to community engagement: local teens share authorship over projects informed by their expertise as South Side residents and that have direct impact on their communities. Teens often participate in multiple sessions of the same program, or multiple program areas across APL. Especially engaged teens have also been hired as interns, teaching assistants, and more.
$400,000
Since 2013, and in partnership with After School Matters, students were paid stipends totaling over $400,000
Featured Projects:
EXPLORE THE WORK
Celebrate the works of APL’s youth!
