About the Community Art Center
The Community Art Center, Inc. -- the sponsor of the Do It Your Damn
Self!! National Youth Video and Film Festival -- provides a continuum of care for
families beginning with a licensed School Age child Care Program
serving ages 5-12 and extending to our Teen Media Program serving
ages 11-19. Our programs serve children living in Cambridge's Newtowne
Court/Washington Elms public housing developments and its surrounding
Area IV neighborhood. Our innovative programs engage young people
in exploring their identities and creative talents through processes
of critical thinking, problem solving and self-expression. These
opportunities develop social, art and work skills leading to higher
education, and active involvement in their communities' development.
We encourage long-term relationships with the arts, with the Community
Art Center and among peers.
The Cambridge neighborhood of Area IV is situated between Kendall
and Central Squares. The latest Census (1990) showed the Area IV
population to be 6,886 residents of which, 18.6 %, of families was
living below the poverty line, more than any other neighborhood
in Cambridge. People of color compose 60.1% of the population of
Area 4. An even greater percentage of the youth in the neighborhood
are people of color at 77.4%. According to the Community Development
Department, in Area IV eighty-five percent of the families living
in Cambridge public housing developments live below the poverty
level. Our year-round programs for children and teens ages 6-19
combine arts instruction with a strong social service component.
We serve children living in Cambridge's Newtowne Court / Washington
Elms public housing developments and its surrounding Area IV neighborhood.
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