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John A. Brashear Lodge No. 743

Brashear Association’s Annual Student Art Exhibit

Brashear Bugle-Summer 2007

Brashear Association Partners with Lydia's Place

South Side Families Enjoy the Opera

The Brashear Association’s Annual Student Art Exhibit held on May 22, 2007 in South Side Works, was a culmination of the artwork produced by the students of the Brashear Association’s 2006-2007 after school art programs.  

The Association’s 06-07 after school art programs included: Phillips Elementary School’s New Artist program, the Allentown After School Art program, as well as Brashear’s long-standing Arts Apprenticeship program for middle school students. 

Brashear’s New Artist program at Phillips Elementary School has been in operation for nearly ten years.  Designed to affirm fine arts skills in third, fourth and fifth grade students, the program takes aim at providing hands-on art activities to students at any level of artistic achievement.  “We really try to design activities that will be fun, artistically challenging, and yet accessible to all students,” Laura Erion, Children’s Program Instructor and AmeriCorps member for the Brashear Association explains.  “While we want to challenge the students, we also want to peak their interest in the world of visual arts.  We want our students to enjoy the arts for many years to come.” 

The agency’s Allentown After School Art program is a much newer program than the New Artist program, but it also attempts to draw students in through accessible fine art activities. 

Piloted during the 2005-2006 school year, Brashear’s Allentown After School Art program held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church grew out of the need for additional after school programs in the neighborhood of Allentown.  “We’ve been so impressed with the students in this year’s Allentown program.  As a relatively new program, we’re still fine-tuning the curriculum to best need students’ needs.  However, we’ve found this year’s students both talented and adaptable.  They’ve thrived within the current program design,” explains Lisa Donofrio, Education Coordinator for the Brashear Association.  “The final work displayed at this year’s Art Exhibit was really outstanding.

Designed for students in grades 2-5, the Allentown After School Art program ran for its first full year this past season.  “We have every intention of continuing this program for the foreseeable future,” adds Donofrio, “In fact, we’ll be running a summer program out of Bethlehem Lutheran this summer and we certainly hope to replicate the success of the school year program.”

Brashear’s Art Apprenticeship students also had a very successful program year.  The 06-07 season of the Arts Apprenticeship program incorporated three unique courses for middle school students: Drawing and Mixed Media instructed by artist Karen White; Printmaking instructed by artist David McGeehan, and Clay and Pottery instructed by Brashear’s Artist-in-Residence and Fireborn Studios co-owner Donna Hetrick.  As Ms. Erion explains, “The artwork produced by the middle schoolers in this year’s Arts Apprenticeship program was absolutely incredible.  Many of the pieces produced by these very talented students looked as though they were created by professional adult artists!” 

While the students enrolled in the agency’s after school art programs stole the evening with their many impressive artistic accomplishments, the Annual Student Art Exhibit would not have been possible were it not for the generosity of many various entities through the South Pittsburgh community. 

The catering enjoyed by the children and their families on the evening of the 22^nd was provided by several generous businesses, including: The Pita Pit, 17^th Street Café, Café du Jour, The Beehive, The Library, Shootz, Giant Eagle, Starbucks, Qdoba, and Michelle’s Diner.  Additionally, the evening would not have been possible without the Soffer Organization’s donation of space to the event. 

The Brashear Association is a United Way agency.  The New Artist, Allentown Art, and Arts Apprenticeship programs receive support from Equitable Resources and through Brashear’s NAP partnership with Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, PNC Bank, and South Side Local Development Company.

For more information about the Brashear Association’s Children’s Enrichment programs, please contact the Education Coordinator at: 412-431-2236.

The Brashear Association has formed a partnership with Lydia’s Place in an exciting pilot program to serve South Pittsburgh families caring for children with an incarcerated parent. The program will establish a resource and referral system, linking the families to community resources and services.  The need is potentially great. A two year study conducted by the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation found that there are 7,000 children in Allegheny County with an incarcerated parent, with 500 to 1,000 estimated to reside in the South Pittsburgh area.

The program is being initiated in conjunction with the opening of the new Family Activity Center at the Allegheny County Jail.  The Family Activity Center was created by Lydia’s Place, Incorporated in partnership with the Allegheny County Bureau of Corrections and the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation.  The Center, which provides a comfort zone for children and information and resources for caregivers, is located in the lobby of the jail.  The Grand Opening was held April 21, 2007 and the Center is now open to all visitors who are accompanied by children. 

When South Pittsburgh families caring for the children of incarcerated individuals seek in-depth information and resources at the center, they will be connected to The Brashear Association’s Self-Sufficiency Program. “We are attempting to create a system that will ideally include the staff and volunteers of the Family Activity Center and all of the human and financial services that aid South Pittsburgh families,” stated Vicki Sirockman, Executive Director of Lydia’s Place. 

The Brashear Association has provided community services to South Pittsburgh residents since 1917.  Its Self-Sufficiency Program employs a case management approach to help individuals and families determine the steps necessary to reach family stability.  Lydia’s Place helps female offenders and their children rebuild their lives through coordinated services and long-term support.

The pilot program is generously supported by the Birmingham Foundation.  The Brashear Association is a United Way agency.  Its Self-Sufficiency Program is funded by Pittsburgh Community Services, Inc. and the Birmingham Foundation.

When fifty families from The Brashear Association’s art programs and Phillips Elementary School attended the opera on Friday, March 30^th, the children in this group seemed to know more about The Magic Flute than anyone else in the audience! Because of their participation in The Opera Connection, they came to the performance prepared to enjoy and understand Mozart’s lively opera.  

The Opera Connection is funded by the Grable Foundation and coordinated by Dr. Marilyn Egan, the director of education at The Pittsburgh Opera.  The program partners with city schools and community groups to provide Pittsburgh school children and their families with free tickets to the opera. 

The Opera Connections program goes beyond providing complimentary opera tickets to families.  The program actually prepares students for the opera experience through a series of pre-opera workshops.  Facilitated by Ms. Egan and opera singer Demareas Cooper, the workshops orient students with the music, plot, language, and setting of the upcoming opera.  The lessons are reinforced through the music curriculum at Phillips Elementary.  By the time students find their seats at the Benedum Center, they are fully comfortable with the evening’s performance.

Third grader Elizabeth McCullough explained her perception of this unique program.  “We like the Opera Connections [program]… It gives kids the chance to see operas.”  McCullough continues, “I loved The Magic Flute.  It was really funny… My favorite character was the Queen of the Night.  She has a really nice voice and she’s very pretty.”  

Nine-year-old Lydia McCoy agreed.  “I like the opera because I like seeing all the characters and what happens to them… And I like to see the costumes and everything that goes on on the stage.” 

The Opera Connections program makes the performance accessible to all audiences and enables children to relate to the performance in a way that might otherwise not occur.  Speaking of the impish bird catcher in The Magic Flute, Haylee Clanagan explained what makes the Papageno character her favorite in The Magic Flute.  “Well, Papageno’s a lot like me… He talks a lot like me and he’s always getting up and never sitting down for a long time.  Papageno gets up and moves around all the time – he’s just like me.”

The Brashear Association has participated in Opera Connection for several years, along with Hill House Association and Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, as a part of a collaboration originally organized by the United Way.  The program has become an important component of Brashear’s art education programs for children in South Pittsburgh elementary and middle schools.

According to Lisa Donofrio, education coordinator at Brashear, “We are always looking for new ways to reach out to children and their families and involve them in activities at Brashear and in the community.  The Opera Connection allows families to explore an art form and gain access to the cultural resources of the City.  We are excited to work with The Pittsburgh Opera to provide this great opportunity.”

The Brashear Association is a United Way agency.  For more information about its programs for children, please call 412-431-2236.  Education programs receive support from the NAP partnership with PNC Bank.