Pittsburgh, PA
A multi-discipline and minority directed center for arts and learning that employs the visual and performing arts to foster a sense of accomplishment and hope in the urban community.
In 1968, amid riots and post-industrial depression, college student Bill Strickland founded the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) as an after-school program teaching pottery skills to at-risk youth, seniors, and the emotionally and physically handicapped. Recognizing the success of the MCG through Strickland’s leadership, the Bidwell Training Center (BTC), a vocational training program, asked Bill to take over its leadership. Today, although the two programs are run separately, they share common board members, the same president, and state-of-the-art facilities and cannot be viewed separately.
Nuts and Bolts:
- The MCG has multiple goals: to use the arts to educate and inspire inner-city youth to become productive citizens; to preserve, present and promote jazz and visual arts; to stimulate intercultural understanding, appreciation and enhancement of the quality of life for audiences; and to equip and educate leaders to further demonstrate entrepreneurial potential.
- MCG has a number of arts and youth programs including the Arts Apprenticeship Training Program, the Arts Collaborative Program, and the Artist in Schools Program.
- The Arts Apprenticeship Training Program teaches inner-city public school students the technical and aesthetic elements of ceramics, photography, drawing, painting and computer imaging while providing guidance and support for students to pursue long term goals.
- Personal and career counseling help students to meet the challenges awaiting them beyond high school. Students can also taste the college life-style through Guild-sponsored visits to area campuses.
- The Arts Collaborative Program integrates arts throughout the high school curriculum. Working on a one-on-one scale with students, the Collaborative individually tailors approaches to learning that redirect troubled young people and get them into college and to lead productive lives.
- The Artist in Schools Program provides the opportunity for resident artists to share their technical expertise and unique artistic perspective with students and teachers.
- BTC’s Vocational Training Programs include preparation for a career as a business travel counselor, medical claims processor, medical secretary, medical transcriber, pharmacy technician, informational services provider, chemical laboratory techniques and culinary arts. Reading, math and computer instruction, and GED preparation are also offered. Financial aid is available to all students and Bidwell’s training does not affect welfare or unemployment benefits.
Successes:
- In a few short years, the MGC and BTC programs have grown into a more than $3 million-a-year operation, with a combined staff of 110 people.
- Funding for these programs is primarily secured through state and national grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District. The BTC enjoys funding from a host of national corporations including, Ebay, Heinz, Eckerd, and IBM.
- The programs reach 475 adults and 400 kids age 11-19 each year, of which over 75 percent of the kids go on to college and 78 percent of the adults who graduate from BTC find jobs.
- Students of the Arts Collaborative Program, have seen success in the higher attendance and grade point average levels than students from local public schools.
- Bidwell graduates can compete with college graduates for jobs. The one year chemical laboratory technician program, for example, has trained more than 100 students, of which 81% have found jobs in a field where the annual minimum starting salary is between $20,000 and $25,000.
For more information on this program: The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, The Manchester Bidwell Corporation, Bidwell Training Center