3. From the Director
2011 marked an exciting year of change for Street-Level.
After several years of planning and much anticipation, we laid the foundation for our future growth with
the opening of our new multimedia center this past fall. Street-Level made bold goals that entailed some
risks when we set out to develop this new site amidst uncertain economic times. However, like all our
efforts, we rose up and met the challenge because of our steadfast commitment to give underserved youth
the best educational media arts experience to support their growth.
Within our new walls, Street-Level has built a digital playground where young people can discover their
passions and explore new ways of expressing themselves. We’ve equipped our studio and classroom
training labs with tools that help youth stretch their imaginations and learn to be nimble in our everchanging media and technology landscape. We’ve designed a culturally-vibrant and inviting space for
young people from across the city to gather regularly, so they can share and celebrate their artistic talents
with one another.
Through our media arts programs, we’ve also established a supportive environment for youth to cultivate
their unique voice, learn to communicate with confidence, and responsibly engage with the world
around them. In collaboration with their peers and adult mentors, young people process the issues they
face, formulate questions to investigate, and together, nurture intergenerational visions of better futures
through the media they create.
Street-Level is proud of the media arts opportunities we have developed for our youth. My heartfelt thanks go
to all our staff, Board, partners, and supporters whose contributions make this important work possible.
Sincerely,
Manwah Lee
Executive Director
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 3 ]
4. OUR MISSION
Street-Level Youth Media educates Chicago’s urban youth in media arts and emerging
technology for use in self-expression, communication, and social change.
Street-Level’s programs build critical thinking skills for young people who have been
historically neglected by public policy makers and mass media.
Using video, audio, graphic design, digital photography, and the Internet, Street-Level
youth address community issues, access advanced technology, and gain inclusion in
our information-based society.
5. about Street-Level
STREET-LEVEL YOUTH MEDIA sprang from a simple idea: What if young people had
video cameras to document the world as they saw it? What stories would they tell?
What could they teach us?
As it turned out: everything. In the summer of 1992, as part of Sculpture Chicago’s
“Culture in Action” initiative, west side Chicago youth made forty videos on topics
ranging from gangs and families to the gradual gentrification of their neighborhood.
The youth collaborated with an artist collective and threw a giant block party where
their videos were installed on monitors up and down the street. The block party
attracted over one thousand visitors — and national attention.
The success of this and subsequent community-based public art efforts inspired
Street-Level to officially incorporate as a nonprofit organization, dedicated to youth
empowerment through media.
On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of that first project, Street-Level now annually
engages nearly 1,000 young people from all over Chicago in media arts production.
Programs have grown to include audio and music production, stop-motion animation,
multimedia journalism, digital photography, and graphic design. Training workshops take
place year-round at our new West Town community multimedia center. Street-Level
also partners with Chicago Public Schools and other youth providers to bring our media
expertise into the classroom and to out-of-school settings.
Under the guidance of our professional media instructors, youth gain not just
technical media skills, but also essential critical thinking and digital literacy skills for
today’s information-driven world. At Street-Level, youth find a safe and supportive
environment to speak out on what matters most to them and their communities.
In all programs, Street-Level creates opportunities for youth to access media arts
and digital technology not readily available in their schools or homes. More than 95%
of Street-Level participants are youth of color and about 85% hail from low-income
families. All of our programs are offered free of charge, eliminating financial barriers to
media arts participation.
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 5 ]
7. our history
1995: Street-Level incorporates as a 501(c)3 nonprofit
1996: Youth document Democratic National Convention in Chicago
1997: Neutral Ground on Chicago Ave. opens as Street-Level’s primary program site
1998: Street-Level receives the first Coming Up Taller Award from President Clinton’s
Committee on the Arts & Humanities
1999: Street-Level expands special projects and earned income initiatives to
grow our financial capacity
2000: Street-Level launches full-tuition scholarship program in partnership with
Columbia College Chicago
2001: “Peace Sign” project is featured on billboards across Chicago
2002: “Out of the Loop” video featured at Chicago History Museum
2003: Street-Level receives the first Microsoft Unlimited Potential Award
2004: Street-Level retrospective “Urban Expressions” opens at the Field Museum of Chicago
2005: Street-Level’s 10th anniversary
2006: Youth travel to New Orleans to document and participate in Katrina rebuilding efforts
2007: Street-Level upgrades technology and software, and builds out first recording studio
2008: Student exhibition “My Community Matters” opens at Chicago Children’s Museum;
Neutral Ground destroyed in a fire
2009: Media programs resume in Street-Level’s transitional space on Augusta Blvd. in
Humboldt Park
2010: Street-Level launches new logo and visual identity project
2011: Street-Level opens new community multimedia arts center and production studio in
West Town, and reveals a fresh, rebranded website
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 7 ]
9. our new home
IN FALL 2011, Street-Level opened the doors to our new
multimedia center at 1637 North Ashland Avenue. The
facility features two Mac computer labs, a youth media
gallery, and a professional-level multimedia production
studio with two control rooms and a multipurpose sound
stage — all designed exclusively for young people.
Street-Level celebrated the new center with a grand
opening benefit on September 29. The gala offered friends
and supporters a unique behind-the-scenes preview of the
center’s construction before youth media workshops got
underway on October 17.
Since opening day, Street-Level has welcomed youth,
educators, and community members for after-school
workshops, school field trips, film screenings, performances,
and our youth-led Free 4 All open mic night.
5,250
35
21
Square feet in our
new center
Mac computers
for youth to use
Of 50 Chicago
wards represented
by our youth
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 9 ]
11. on-site programs
OVER THE COURSE OF 2011, over 500 youth ages 8
Organizations and the Local Youth Leadership
to 22 took part in workshops, field trips, and special
Council to launch Free 4 All, a youth-run monthly
events at Street-Level.
open mic night that also spotlights local and
Youth from twenty-seven different schools
emerging artists.
enrolled in after-school and summer media arts
In all our program activities, Street-Level
workshops at Street-Level. Participants of all skill
fosters youth leadership and 21st-century skill
levels learned to operate media equipment such
development. Our program alumni serve as
as video cameras, hand-held recorders, boom
teaching assistants, studio engineers, and event
microphones, digital cameras, and midi keyboards.
emcees, and contribute to our on-going program
They learned scriptwriting, interviewing, beat-
development process.
making, composition, and graphics, and brought
it all together by editing with industry-standard
software. Through the lens of media, youth
investigated issues like civic engagement, crosscultural differences, community representation,
and even the federal budget.
From January to September at our Augusta
Blvd. location, youth participated in workshops
“It was challenging to be able to
make a video that would be able
to catch the attention of young
people, but also be informational
to people who are older and who
we want to listen and understand
how WE want this money to be
spent for our future.”
such as Musicology (music), Digital Exposures
(photography), Digital Fusion (multimedia arts),
— Arani Shearrill, age 12
“If I Had a Trillion Dollars” workshop participant
the Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program, and our
summer media arts bootcamps.
From October to December at our new Ashland
Avenue center, youth enrolled in Homegrown
(video), If I Had a Trillion Dollars (video), The Hero
(music), and Digital Exposures (photography).
With our expanded space, the scope of our
activities also grew. We launched a field trip
program that has brought even more Chicago
public school students to Street-Level to participate
in intensive audio and video workshops using
professional-grade media equipment. In November,
we partnered with the Alliance of Local Service
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 11 ]
12.
13. summer arts apprenticeship program
FOR THE NINTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, Street-
“I felt like I connected with many students in the
Level’s Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program (SAAP)
program, not just my mentees,” reflected mentor
provided fifteen advanced teen artists with the
Allison Yasukawa. “I saw all of them achieve great
opportunity to take their media skills to the next
things at different points in the program... They
level. Apprentices developed a deeper engagement
really worked collaboratively to figure out how to
with media production, arts criticism, and Chicago’s
use materials and tell stories in truly creative ways.”
rich arts and cultural scene. They also learned about
teamwork, organization, and self-management.
Working around this year’s theme of “Chance,
SAAP’s final group exhibition, Brave Youth Voices,
was presented at Yollocalli Arts Reach in Pilsen
from August to September.
Choice, and Change,” the apprentices created
original multimedia artwork in collaboration with
adult artist mentors, seasoned professionals who,
in turn, found they learned a lot from the teens.
Mentor Frank Rinaldi believes his SAAP experience
strengthened him as an artist. “I was forced to make
sure my grasp on the fundamentals of technique and
theory were absolutely solid,” he explained. “I would
love to teach, mentor and volunteer in the future.”
Friends, families, and community members celebrate the
summer apprentices’ accomplishments at the Brave Youth
Voices opening reception at Yollocalli.
Youth Spotlight: Darion Williams-Bangs
SWING BY STREET-LEVEL just about any afternoon and you’re likely to find Clemente High School senior
Darion Williams-Bangs in the studio working the mixing board or writing music.
A 2011 participant in the Summer Arts Apprenticeship Program (SAAP), Darion has grown along with StreetLevel’s audio programs in the last year and a half, as both moved from the limited production space at StreetLevel’s previous location to the current state-of-the-art recording studio.
Darion’s experience of recording his first beat in Street-Level’s afterschool program at Clemente hooked him
on the process. “It was kind of exciting because you get an idea of how you want this to sound, how you want
everyone else to react from it. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is so awesome.’”
Building on that success, Darion was selected for SAAP, an intensive eight-week experience that allowed him to develop his skills
even more. His final project was a three-part hip-hop production titled “Back to Reality” that documented a young man’s journey
through life’s challenges.
While learning different beat-making programs and how to run the mixing board have occupied a lot of Darion’s time, it is his
growth as an artist that he identifies as the program’s biggest impact. Before Street-Level, he says, “I would just write music just to
do it, but now I actually start to think about, what am I writing? What message am I trying to display?”
A young man who considers himself a positive artist, Darion has big goals for his future in music. “The music that I make in my
head, I hear it as a number one hit. That’s how I view everything that I do and that’s the way I want everyone else to view it, as
something special, something you could vibe to.”
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 13 ]
14. PORTAGE
PARK
l
Clemente High School
Von Humboldt
Elementary
music production • after school
video production • after school
AUSTIN
HUMBOLDT
PARK
Lake Michigan
WEST TOWN
E. GARFIELD
PARK
l
Michele Clark High School
l l
Marshall Metro
High School
l
l
NORTH
LAWNDALE
music production • after school
LOWER WEST SIDE
l
multimedia journalism • after school
l
Dvorak Technology
Academy
DOUGLAS
Young Women’s
Leadership
Charter School
multimedia • arts integration
multimedia • after school
Juarez High School
video production • after school
Vaughn High School
audio/video production • in-school elective
Dunne Technology
Academy
multimedia • arts integration
WASHINGTON
HEIGHTS
l
Street-Level has teamed with Vaughn for more than three years, during which
time students have written and produced original media that share positive
messages and reduce sterotypes.
The work is part of Vaughn’s senior seminar, in which students use the training
they receive from Street-Level to develop life skills and engage in advocacy on
behalf of their peers.
In 2011, Vaughn students collaborated to produce create songs and videos
that addressed cyberbullying, disability pride, and the importance of respecting
young women. The partnership was strengthened and extended through field
trips to Street-Level’s multimedia center.
“With the help of the experts from Street-Level,” said teacher Kelly Tepastte,
“we are able to give students creative license in their work and help them create
incredible music and video. I am very proud of my students and extremely
thankful for the opportunity to work with Street-Level Youth Media.”
l
ROSELAND
Gillespie Elementary
music production • arts integration
15. school partnerships
STREET-LEVEL BELIEVES that innovative media arts
integration — where we collaborate with classroom
education and access to cultural production and
teachers on media projects that enhance student
digital technology builds the foundation for future
achievement in core subjects like math and
success. To widen our program reach, Street-Level
science — and in-school electives and after-school
partners with Chicago Public Schools to bring our
workshops that emphasize media arts education
media arts education programming into the school
and personal youth development.
setting. In 2011, we worked with ten Chicago public
elementary and high schools, serving nearly 450
students all across the city.
Our school-based programs take the form of arts
Among our in-school projects, students used
multimedia tools to explore science and biological
viruses, raise awareness about school bullying, and
report on food deserts and healthy nutrition.
“In 1871 a fire burned down the town,
and it all started with Mrs.O’Leary’s cow.
Bow bow, fire shot all around. Then the
whole town burned down.
People’s lives were changing, and after
that Chicago was never the same.”
— Lyrics to “Greatest City of All”
Ms. Banks’ 5th grade class, Gillespie Elementary
393
Final media arts projects
produced by youth
13
Partner teachers
8
Youth media showcases,
screenings, & events
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 15 ]
16. 2011 financials
CURRENT ASSETS
PUBLIC INCOME & REVENUE
Cash and cash equivalents.....................$679,634
Contract services........................................$89,613
Prepaid expenses............................... ...........$7,628
Foundation grants.....................................$567,150
Fixed assets................................................$533,796
Government funds....................................$102,700
(net of accumulated depreciation of $275,164)
Security deposit...........................................$13,120
Total Assets..........................................$1,234,178
Corporate contributions............................$36,216
Individual contributions............................$35,682
In-kind contributions........................ ........ $49,063
Interest................................................. ...............$331
Total Income...........................................$880,755
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable........................................$64,138
Long-term debt.........................................$142,224
EXPENSES
Security deposit...........................................$13,120
Total Liabilities.......................................$206,362
Program services............................... ......$468,018
Administration.................................... ........ $90,706
Fundraising..................................................$62,264
NET ASSETS
Total Expenses........................................$620,988
Unrestricted........................................ ......$556,636
Temporarily restricted..............................$471,180
Total Net Assets......................................$1,027,816
Total Liabilities Net Assets.............$1,234,178
“Before I was shy, and I never really showed
anyone my talent. Now, ever since StreetLevel and all the classes I’ve been in, they
showed me, don’t be afraid, be brave and just
do what you love and follow your dreams.”
— Vanessa Roldan, age 12
musician video producer
[ 16 ] www.street-level.org
17. who We Are
BOARD STAFF FROM JAN 1 TO DEC 31, 2011
board of directors
Eddie Clopton, Jr.
Meg Comer
Will Fletcher
Courtney Gray
Shawn Healy
Tim Irwin
Russell Lewis
Lisa Montez
Leilani Sweeney
Street-Level staf f
James Duke
Media Instructor
Steven Evans
Program Coordinator
Marc Furigay
Director of Education
Maria Krasinski
Development Manager
Chris Lee
Media Instructor
Manwah Lee
Executive Director
Aasia Mohammad
Community Outreach Coordinator
Maricela Zapian
Administrative Marketing Coordinator
teaching corps
Mireya Acierto
Jonathan Alvin
Erin Barnard
Rhonda Jackson
Heather Jurewicz
Devin Katayama
Jeneba Koroma
Sean Owens
Frank Rinaldi
Michael Sirianni
Rico Sisney
Asha Tamirisa
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 15 ]
18. Our Supporters
FOUNDATION, CORPORATE, GOVERNMENT,
COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS
IN-KIND SUPPORTERS
The Art Institute of Chicago
$250,000+
Arts Spirits
Kresge Foundation
Branch 27
$100,000+
Street-Level
McCormick Foundation
Chicago Cubs
Chicago Filmmakers
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
for our many
supporters,
Chicago White Sox
After School Matters
Cinema/Chicago
Challenge Grant for Journalism
Core Fitness Chicago
$25,000–49,999
is grateful
$50,000–99,999
CRO
Chicago Community Trust
DLA Piper
Chicago Public Schools
Eilts Associates
Illinois Department of Commerce Economic Opportunity
Facets Multimedia
$10,000–24,999
Alphawood Foundation
without
whom none
of this would
Artworks Fund
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Special Events
Chicago Department of Family Support Services
Exelon
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Leo S. Guthman Fund
Illinois Arts Council
NAMM Foundation
be possible.
Prince Charitable Trusts
g*boutique
Gene Siskel Film Center
Gorilla Tango Theatre
IFF
Jerry’s Sandwiches
Jones Day
JW Salon
Kidrobot
Komoda
Logitech
Lou Malnati’s
Museum of Contemporary Art
$1,000–9,999
Om on the Range Yoga Studio
@properties Friends Neighbors Fund
Philosophy
Annonymous
Ray’s Bucktown BB
Chicago Youth Voices Network
Ray Villalobos
Day 1 Studios
Samuel Adams
Deutsche Bank
Shure
JP Morgan Chase
Solex Partners
kCura
Vin Divino
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Midwest Game Developers’ Kickball Tournament
Peoples Gas
Up to $999
Chevron
Chicago Tribune Foundation
Columbia College Chicago
Fleet Feet
Gap Giving Campaign
Global Giving Foundation
Kraft Foods Foundation
MB Financial
MD Investments
Native Foods
Pew Center for Arts Heritage
Phosphor Games
P.K. Johnson Associates
[ 18 ] www.street-level.org
INDIVIDUAL
SUPPORTERS
$1,000+
Richard Berger
Meg Comer
Will Fletcher
Courtney Gray
Shawn Healy
Andrew Hixson
Timothy Irwin
Russell Lewis
Lisa Montez
$500–999
Leslie Bluhm
Eddie Clopton
Cinnamin Malone
19. Thanh Mai Nyugen
Jack Pace
Tony Streit
$100–499
Robert Acton
Lorilynn Ando
Stephen Beard
Clark Bell
Peter Bennett
Lolly Bowean
Gary Burgess
Jennifer Cadigan
Robert Carroll
Chris Cobb
Justin Corcoran
Patrick Curry
Matt Daugherty
J.E. Dillon
Helen Doria
Matthew Doucet
Michael Flores
Ed Foppe
Jeena Greenwalt
Venu Gupta
Maria Gutierrez
Rhonda Haney
Shaun Himmerick
Elaine Hodgson
William Vicki Hood
Elena Jiang
Jennie Jiang
Paul Johnson
Zack Jordan
Thomas Kang
Christopher Keyser
Chris Krastel
Jonathon Krusell
David Lang
Karen Langham
Corinna Lema
Cathy Linn-Thorstenson
Nancy Erwin Maher
Louis Marsico
Cory Marzullo
Ismael Medeles
Matthew Miller
Hoang Nguyen
Mark Norman
Eric Nyquist
Fred O’Connor
Daniel Panuska
Nicholas Pavlidis
Bruce Philipson
Mary Purcell
Erik Purins
Susan Rider
Eric Sacks
Amy Schiciano
Ronald Sonenthal
Lyn Soo Hoo
Gerry Gwen Swanson
Kelly Tepastte
Matthew Twetten
Michael Urda
Andras Connie Vari
Nancy Wall
Jesse Woghin
Phyllis Zendejas
Up to $99
Angela Adams
Miguel Alba
James Altman
Emily Anderson
Zoe Anderson
Jill Antoniewicz
Deborah Anzalone
Katherine August
Ashley Ausikaitis
Mirza Baig
Kyle Bailey
Clark Bell
Richard Bernal
Megan Bernard
Chelsea Blasko-Muse
Katrina Bockus
Katharine Boss
William Bramer
Lori Brayer
Courtney Brouwer
Joseph Budlovsky
Alicia Burke
Cedric Busse
Frank Buttitta
Jim Butts
Anne Cadigan
John Calcagno
John Mary Ellen Capuzzo
Christopher Cariano
Richard Carle
Dustin Carroll
Matt Carter
Julio Castillo
Cynthia Cata
Nathanial Cavalieri
Rhoda Chang
Jeremy Chapman
Salome Chasnoff
Lindsay Cochrane
Jeremy Conkin
Hillary Cook
Josh Criz
Daniela Denaro
Adriana DeVost
Joe DiBernardo
Zach Duffy
Cynthia Durley
Bryce Dwyer
Patrick Dwyer
Thomas Eastman
Josh Edelman
Emily Egan
Erik Eidukas
Joseph Heather Emrich
Cody Engle
Christopher Erikson
Chad Jan Fellah
Mindy Fishel
Boris Fisher
Eileen Flaherty
Daniel Forden
Michael Foy
Marilyn Franck
Annie Funke
Julie Furigay
Kate Geisler
Adam Goff
Mark Gorski
Melissa Graves
Elizabeth Gray
William Gray
Brian Greenblatt
Sandy Guttman
Jaroslaw Gwarnicki
Roxana Hadad
Craig Haines
Geoff Haines
Colleen Harvey
Rita Heusinger
Roger Hirsch
Christopher Hoeft
Nicholas Hoeft
Steven Hoeft
Kevin Hoke
Christopher Horlacher
Iwei Doris Huang
Roberto Hurtado
Ellen Hutchinson
Emily Johnson
Linda Kalata
Megan Kane
Scott Kapp
Mary Kelly
May Lin Kessenich
Mayra Khan
Eric Kiander
Johnny Kidd
Daniel Kim
Barbara Koenen
Gary Krasinski
Tessa Kwant
James LaBelle
Christopher Lacalamita
Matt Langton
Beth LaRocca
Thomas Catherine LaRocca
Emily Lautenbach
Mary Lewis
Diana Linn
Daniel Loane
Amelia Love
Christopher Magnus
John Malloy
Joey Manso
Matthew Marsden
Andrew Massari
Scott Matott
Benjamin Mazza
Jeff McCarter
Meghan McLaren
Erin McLaughlan
Lourdes Milian
Jennifer Mills
Aasia Mohammad
Amber Mohammad
Peter Mondejar
Austin Montgomery
Zach Mortice
Sujatha Nagarajan
Samuel Nallen
Daniel Nelson
Anthony Nelson
Chris Smith
Amalia Snowdon
Adam Stanley
Regina Stefancic
Benjamin Stokes
Kristine Strom
Shannon Stubblefield
Julie Swartz
Joe Szulkowski
Sandra Szulkowski
Dina Tallarico
Ellen Tani
Juan Tejedor
Andrea Temkin
Jessica Terlikowski
Cindy Ternes
Diana Teruel
Alice Thomes
Barbara Thompson
Ardy Curt Thorstenson
John Neumann
Aaron Newton
Dan Nikolaides
Geralyn Navarro
Robert Nyblad
Michael O’Connor
Mary O’Malley
Matt O’Neill
Melissa Oglesby
Ken Overbey
Joseph Palmer
Kate Palmer
Meghan Palmer
James Pappachen
Gladstone Payton
Ben Perez
Anthony Perkins
Gus Peterson
Bonnie Pleuthner
John Podlasek
Jen Pollard
Kenneth Porrello
Frank Pusateri
Cindy Recht
Elizabeth Richter
Sherri Rinker
Michael Rios
Cary Robertson
Gretchen Roecker
Vanessa Sanchez
Harvey Sanders
Peter Sauerbrei
Leslie Schramer
Erica Schuetz
Shannon Schuyler
Michael Scodro
Steve Sengele
Timothy Shymkus
Joseph Simons
Anthony Smith
Casey Smith
Kurt Tillmanns
Michael Tisdale
Fereshteh Toosi
Joshua Tsui
Dahlia Tulett
Micah Uetricht
Jeremy Underhill
Frank Valadez
Elizabeth Van Fleet
Doug vanderHoof
David Vari
Vanessa Vari
Rebecca Vaughn-Stepter
Katherine Walsh
Kelsey Wander
Lindsey Weeks
Katherine Whitington
George Wietor
John Williams
Brian Wing
Mary Beth Witte
Allyn Woghin
Helen Steven Woghin
Christopher Zalek
Doug Zartman
Katherine Zartman
Teresa Zbiciak
Street-Level Youth Media • 2011 Annual Report [ 19 ]
20. what your donation can fund
$25
Set of headphones for video and audio production projects
$50
Memory cards to capture audio interviews, photographs, documentary video
$100 Refreshments for a media showcase, where youth share their work with
friends, family, community members
$500 Hand-held recorders for ten students in an audio production class
$750 Youth stipend for ten-week advanced studio internship
$1000 Digital photography kit, including dSLR camera, lens, batteries, and case
$5000 One year of professional printing of youth work, postcards, program brochures
Help us make a difference for 1,000 Chicago youth each year.
Visit street-level.org/donate to give today.
STREET-LEVEL YOUTH MEDIA
1637 N. Ashland Ave. | Chicago, IL 60622
T 773.862.5331 | F 773.969.5376 | info@street-level.org
street-level.org