Side by Side Background

Side by Side NYS is a six week art mentoring program uniquely designed for children with special needs, ages 7-18, who have been recommended by their school as having an interest in working with a professional artist from their community, and would benefit from one to one art instruction.

Depending upon individual need and experience, each student will be matched with one Teaching Artist (TA) from within their community who they will work with for the entirety of the program. The student/TA pair will meet for an hour and ½, once a week for a period of 6 weeks. The course of study for each match will depend upon the individual artists’ area of focus, and will be determined by the artist and NYSAAE.
 

Sample Side by Side Work Schedule:

Weeks 1-3: Introductory to Art
                   Week 1: Drawing Techniques
                   Week 2: Color Theory
                   Week 3: Working with Texture

Weeks 4-6: Teacher/Student Collaboration
During this 3 week period the match will collaborate on one piece of artwork.
 
At the end of the 6 week residency there will be a reception and exhibition of the work to celebrate the artwork created during the program. The Side by Side exhibition will then spend time traveling around the state, being exhibited at various galleries and art spaces.

Who created Side by Side?

The Side by Side art mentoring model has been successfully implemented in Alabama, Utah, and Kentucky. To learn specific information about VSAKentucky’s program click here.