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Tumbleweed Center’s Asphalt Art
The partnership between ArtsWork and The Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development integrates arts programming into Tumbleweed’s Phoenix Drop In Center, a drop in center for homeless youth. MFA teaching artists from the ASU School of Theatre and Film collaborate with both staff and clients at the Drop In Center, providing opportunities for street youth to participate in performing arts projects.
The program operates under a youth development model, meaning that we focus on skill building, and development of youth’s pre-existing assets. Accordingly, there are large scale collaborative projects happening alongside smaller, individual based projects at any given time, and clients can work with artists to find the type of arts project that will give them the greatest opportunity for success and growth.
Programming is documented on the project’s blog and YouTube channel.
The Partner
Tumbleweed's Phoenix Drop In Center provides a continuum of services that promote homeless youth, ages 25 years and younger, to move beyond the streets.
Clients dressed as zombies with artist in residence Sarah Sullivan at the 2009 Haunted House. Cast members from Live Out Loud talk with audience members after a tour show at Mesa Community College. Cast photo from The Other Side.
Brief History of Programs
The partnership began in 2006 under the guidance of Stephani Woodson, associate professor in the ASU School of Theatre and Film and Steven Serrano, Drop In Center program manager. Since 2008, ASU graduate students have been in residence at the Drop In Center, working ten hours a week in the center and on street outreach to create a variety of arts programming. Previous programs have included center wide haunted houses in 2008 and 2009, digital storytelling programs, writing, photography, filmmaking and two original theatre productions in partnership with the Phoenix Fringe Festival. These productions, The Other Side in 2009 and Live Out Loud in 2010 performed to sold out crowds and brought the conversation about homelessness into the greater Phoenix community.
Current Residency Project
In spring of 2011, artist-in-residence Sarah Sullivan and apprentices Ashley Hare and Leslie Stellwagen created the third original play with the Phoenix Fringe Festival. This production premiered at Modified Arts the first weekend in April, with an outdoor remount during May's First Friday. Alongside the development of the play, artists collaborated with clients to create individual digital storytelling pieces. These video, audio and photography pieces were edited together into a video sequence that made up the pre-show and transitional pieces of the play.