THE POINT offers comprehensive arts-in-education activities, which foster appreciation of the arts and skill building and supports the young people’s personal and academic growth. THE POINT is the only arts-based after-school program in the Hunts Point peninsula equipped with a dark room, theater and dance and music studios.
After School Arts Residency Program
THE POINT collaborates with resident artists to enhance the Youth Development Program’s arts curricula and connect professional artists with the Hunts Point community. Each year, THE POINT seeks resident artists in disciplines including visual arts, dance and drama. Selected artists collaborate with THE POINT’s After School Program and young people for a period of 12 – 36 weeks each.
Drama
THE POINT engages young people in drama workshops and live performance with professional teaching artists via the After School Arts Residency Program. In addition, the Theatre Apprenticeship Program offers teens the opportunity to learn technical theatre skills including lighting and sound design and act as stage hands in THE POINT’s Live From the Edge Theatre.
Music
A Mr. Holland’s Opus Award-winner and NYS Music Fund recipient, The Hunts Point Academy of Music offers students ages 7 and older the opportunity to receive training in instrumental music as well as music theory and history with talented teaching artists.
Photography
A collaborative program with the International Center of Photography, ICP at THE POINT teaches students as young as nine the fundamentals of black-and-white and digital photography. The program aims to help young people develop important life skills as they aspire towards their artistic goals and dreams. ICP at THE POINT was a 2005 President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities Coming Up Taller Award-winner.
Social Circus
THE POINT is proud to host New York City’s only Cirque du Monde program. The social outreach program of internationally acclaimed Cirque du Soleil, Cirque du Monde uses circus as an alternative education tool to engage youth in communities around the world. THE POINT offers weekly social circus workshops to young people in grades 3 and higher.
Visual Arts
THE POINT’s Visual Arts Program aims to support the positive development of youth and promote arts literacy through weekly workshops, in which young people in grades 1-12 learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting and participate in creative projects. Each spring students have the opportunity to showcase their work in the At the Heart of THE POINT exhibit.