Our innovative Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mindfulness-based Arts Residency Program was created to empower youth to cope with trauma, build resilience, and practice empathy. By identifying, expressing, and sharing their meaning of ‘good’ with art, students learn the power of positive expression and connection. Bring ‘the simple good’ to your youth by contacting us today!
The Problem
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 1 billion children between the ages of 2-17 years old have experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence, or neglect within the past year. Youth victimization and segregation negatively impact our youth on a global scale, and the rise of economic depression, political conflict and societal pressures worsen the conditions children face every day. The terrible conditions created by these issues have caused ⅔ of youth to be exposed to trauma in various forms, and as many as 75% of those in need of help have few or no options for intervention.
Continuous unaddressed trauma in a young person’s life can lead to a lack of hope, and perpetuate the inequality and violence found in communities around the world. Experts agree that trauma can deeply impact healthy growth and development and negatively influence the behavior of young people.
In the U.S. alone, 50% of adolescents meet the criteria for mental health disorders and 50% of students 14 years or older with mental illness drop out of school. Our global Mental Health crisis is only getting more intense, and continues to create new issues in our education systems. Studies have shown that early intervention is essential to address trauma in our world’s youth, and can empower them with tools to overcome future obstacles.
The Solution
The arts are an outlet for development and self expression.
Our Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness-based Arts Programs empower youth to think about possibility, hope and change that they can bring to their communities to improve their corner of the world. Each session begins with a meditation when students are asked to look within to define the ‘good’ in themselves. Students then learn from our global photo blog where ideas of ‘the simple good’ are shared from around the world to inspire our students and connect to others beyond their own neighborhood. Students are then challenged to think about their own meaning of ‘the simple good’ around them, an exercise of positive empowerment and decision making. By exploring the good within themselves, defining what is good around them and sharing that good with the world, our students become positive leaders who will influence the world with positive mindsets and empathetic perspectives.
OUR PROCESS
DISCOVERY
Exploration of Positivity Around the World
Through our global photo blog, people from across the globe are sharing their ideas of ‘the simple good’ in order to inspire our students via photography and storytelling. This helps students discover a world beyond their own but also challenges them to think about their own meaning of ‘the simple good’ to empower themselves and impact their communities.
Reflection
Expressive Creation Through the Arts
Create, create, create! We analyze what we learned about the Simple Good around the world and have our students create artwork that demonstrates their representation of the simple good. We use various artistic mediums to achieve this, including paint and photography.
Expression
Public Showcase in Creative Institutions
There are some things we don’t learn by hearing – we learn through experience. Our program ends with our students presenting their art during a public showcase. The showcase is important for our students because it exposes them to art and creative career paths and broadens their perspectives about what is possible. It also allows our partners meaningful opportunities to connect with our students and support their development.
What is sel?
According to CASEL Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. Each of the 5 SEL Core Competencies can be found in each of our curriculum steps as shown in the infographic below.
Program process & Pillars
The TSG Arts Program is layered with Trauma Recovery, Mindfulness practices and Social Emotional Learning Principles to effectively equip our youth to become self-aware, empowered and positive leaders in the future.
Experiential learning
During the program, students are exposed to accomplished artists, taken on local explorations to find their artistic subjects, and introduced to creative institutions first hand. We end with a public showcase hosted at agencies, companies and other innovative spaces bringing new possibilities to the youth we serve.
Social Emotional learning
SEL competencies are woven through each of our program process steps. Meditation is a self-management practice and by defining their meaning of ‘good’ and discovering it within themselves, students build self-awareness. Social realizations, awareness and relationship building through dialogue are just a few of the ways our program implements the core of SEL.
Mindfulness
Each of our sessions begin with a meditation session to center our students, get them focused to create and ultimately build their ability to practice this skill whenever they need it.
arts And expression
Students are tasked throughout the program to create a final work to visually communicate the meaning of ‘good’ that they found. Using photography, painting and mixed media, students positively express themselves in order to impact the world around them.
Global competency
Students learn about the meaning of ‘good’ from others around the world through our photo blog. We explore regions around the world and discuss the differences that make us unique and commonalities we share. Through this dialogue, students feel a deeper connection to others in parts of the world they have never been.
STUDENT STORIES
ANABELLE V.
6th Grade
Gwendolyn Brooks, CHICAGO USA
My ‘simple good’ is to see the good in the world because there are a lot of bad things happening nationwide, and I want people to pay attention to all the good and stop the bad. My ‘simple good’ was inspired by the way people help each other and how beautiful nature is and how we take care of it. I showed my ‘simple good’ in my work by seeing how beautiful nature can be and the flower was on school grounds so that’s how good we are with nature because the flower wasn’t destroyed.
I plan on using my meaning of the ‘Simple Good’ to improve my community and change the world by making people stop doing bad things and see the good in the world and help people who are hurt instead of hurting them and take care of nature because nature provides us oxygen and we provide them with carbon dioxide. This is important to me because this happens every day. Every day something bad happens. To nature and people and I want to stop that. I want the bad to end because people hurt others for no reason. So I want the bad to stop and the good to stay. A simple good question I would ask others is how would your simple good make a change?
STUDENT STORIES
AZIZ E.
11th Grade
Gwendolyn Brooks, CHICAGO USA
My ‘simple good’ is to see the good in the world because there is a lot of bad things happening nationwide, and I want people to pay attention to all the good and stop the bad. My ‘simple good’ was inspired by the way people help each other and how beautiful nature is and how we take care of it. I showed my ‘simple good’ in my work by seeing how beautiful nature can be and the flower was on school grounds so that’s how good we are with nature because the flower wasn’t destroyed.
I plan on using my meaning of the ‘simple good’ to improve my community and change the world by making people stop doing bad things and see the good in the world and help people who are hurt instead of hurting them and take care of nature because nature provides us oxygen and we provide them with carbon dioxide. This is important to me because this happens every day. Every day something bad happens.To nature and people,and I want to stop that.I want the bad to end because people hurt others for no reason. So I want the bad to stop and the good to stay. A simple good question I would ask others is how would your simple good make a change?
STUDENT STORIES
Rosa Elena M.
12th Grade
Southeast Side, CHICAGO USA
I depicted my ‘simple good’ in my artwork by representing my family and other Mexican things that represent Mexico with the Mexican flag. I plan on using my meaning of the ‘simple good’ to improve my community and change the world by helping others to keep an open-mind and understand where other people come from. This is important to me because it represents me and a part of me that I’m extremely proud of.
STUDENT STORIES
Apiyo B.
P7 Gulu Primary School
Gulu, Uganda
My Simple Good is peace because if people are together it makes me happy. My simple good came from connections to promoting peace in the community.
I depicted my Simple Good in my work my helping people, greeting people, and uniting people. I plan on using my meaning of The Simple Good to improve my community by promoting security and peaceful living. This is important to me because I want more unity, peaceful living and happiness in the community
Bring TSG Art Program to Your COMMUNITY
Contact us to find out how you can bring our powerful art residency program to your community!
Get involved
Help spread The Simple Good by getting involved with our work!
Partner With Us
Connect, support and learn from our students by hosting a showcase at your company, bring ‘the simple good’ and join the movement!
Get Involved
Be the change in our community by volunteering at one of our upcoming events, youth showcases or initiatives.
Your Support
The continuation of our subsidised programming in underserved communities in Chicago are dependent on contributions from artists, community members and supporters.