2007 students engaged in a capoeira workshop In August of 2007, twenty young artists from Connecticut traveled to the island of Praia in Cape Verde, Africa where they, together with thirty Cape Verdean youth, engaged in cultural exchange through the arts. Over the course of two weeks, the students were lead in music, dance, visual art and theater studies by professional artist/instructors from both the United States and Cape Verde. The program provided a life changing experience for all involved, resulting in life-long friendships across geographic borders, a broadened sense of one’s place in the global landscape, and deepened appreciation for the power of art to affect change.

Following this successful inaugural year, the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) and the African nation of Cape Verde are offering the 2008 Center for Creative Youth (CCY) at Cape Verde, CulturArte. This two-week summer arts residency program in Cape Verde, Africa for gifted and talented arts students provides an intensive study of the arts.

Modeled after the highly acclaimed CREC Center for Creative Youth program at Wesleyan University, CCY at Cape Verde, CulturArte engages American and Cape Verdean students in the study of American, Western European and Cape Verdean approaches to their chosen art forms – dance, theater, visual arts, instrumental music or vocal music. Students receive hands-on experience with a fast-paced curriculum that emphasizes leadership skills, historical context, interdisciplinary collaboration, multicultural learning and outreach opportunities.

Morning classes include American/Anglo as well as Cape Verdean approaches to each art form with American and Cape Verdean students all learning together. The afternoon sessions include interdisciplinary workshops, leadership workshops, and excursions to share and teach art with outlying communities, schools, and art centers. Students will take part in community gatherings and take field trips to historical sites, art venues as well as social and community events. Students will leave will a deepened understanding of their art form through this rich exposure to Cape Verdean life and culture.

CCY at Cape Verde, CulturArte seeks and accepts students who have demonstrated talent or potential talent in their chosen major art form. Students who have finished 10th and 11th grades (ages 15-18) in June of 2008 may apply. Ideal candidates are those who display maturity, self-reliance, social responsibility, motivation and commitment to their art form, as well as the ability to work at an intensive pace in a closely knit, diverse community.

For further information about participating in the program as a student, professional artist/instructor, residential advisor, or financial contributor, please contact kstroud@crec.org. Student applications can be found here by clicking the link in the menu above.