HOLLAND, Mich. — On an ordinary Tuesday night, young people in a pottery class at CultureWorks say the opportunity they're getting is anything but ordinary.
"We are an after school arts program that's committed to cultivating creativity, building community, and empowering students. All of our programs are 'pay-what-you-can-afford' for teens, and we also offer transportation from the local public school districts so that kids in Holland public and West Ottawa Public Schools have an opportunity to get picked up and get a ride here," said program director Miranda Craig, who noted that art offers people a lot of mental health benefits.
"Art gives us this opportunity to explore and play and look at our emotions or think about the world that we're living in through a new medium. So instead of just processing my life inside my head, I get to do it with a paint brush or at the pottery wheel or behind a camera."
Avis Streur has been coming to the program's classes since middle school.
"At that time, my family didn't have a lot of money, so it was really nice that I was able to get there and have fun. That was just a big relief for me not having to worry about finances," said Avis, who is now a Hope College student who still comes back to CultureWorks to volunteer.
"I wanted to give back to the community that fostered me as a person. It was an amazing experience that I wanted to pass on to others. In the world right now, art is an important thing to have, and to be able to do."
Avis describes the vibes at CultureWorks as "homey, accepting, and supportive." Miranda says that culture is one of the first things she noticed about the program, and that it's gotten even better as time goes on.
"The students who have been here in previous generations, had the opportunity to build that culture. Each group of students has done a little bit better job of being kind to one another and setting the pace for how we do and don't talk to one another when we're existing in a room together," Miranda said.
"I think there's so much hope in being around the young people that I get to work with. They're constantly kind to one another and sort of cheering each other on in both their artistic pursuits and also their personal lives."
Miranda is relatively new to the nonprofit, but says she's already seen the impact it's made in the community.
"We have a lot of kids who say 'It's when I started coming here that my social anxiety started getting better. It's when I started taking classes here that I began to feel like I had friends.' There are kids who come and say 'I didn't realize this was available to me, and now I'm planning on pursuing a career in the arts,'" Miranda said.
Avis says the program has had a profound impact on them as well.
"Without CultureWorks, I feel like I would have really struggled to find my sense of self and self worth, because through art, it's been a passion and a journey from all of the different years, and it's cumulated into an art form that I'm very proud of, and I'm willing to share," they said.
"It's just such an amazing place. It let me grow and flourish and develop as a person in society, and even though it's through art, I'm still developing in a beautiful way."
Eighty-five percent of the organization's funding comes from individual donations and family foundations. They say they're working to buy a van to help students with their transportation needs. If you'd like to donate, you can find out how through their website.
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