KUUMBA Community Arts wins BhamFEAST

Last Saturday evening, following a unique combination of food and community crowdfunding, participants at Design Week Birmingham’s 2nd annual BhamFEAST awarded Kuumba Community Arts a grant supporting its Teen Design Academy initiative.

Teen Design Academy is an intensive six-month training program partnering 15 students ages 14-17 with seasoned, working professionals in graphic design and related fields. It’s an initiative of Ensley-based non-profit Kuumba Community Arts whose goal is to increase art awareness and appreciation as well as give the children in our community the opportunity to learn to fully express themselves through art. Teen Design Academy was developed with the generous support of Create Birmingham and our CO.STARTERS business development platform.

Participants in the Teen Design Academy will learn the fundamentals of visual design, industry software and tools with a holistic approach that ties in ideation, writing, project management, execution and other skills to provide an early introduction to the creative industry needs of Birmingham. Along the way, students will develop the groundwork to establish a fully-functioning advertising agency to serve local businesses and non-profit organizations. This agency will also create a place for them to earn a wage for their creative work as they develop a professional portfolio. Teen Design Academy aims to raise the next generation of Birmingham’s young entrepreneurs, design thinkers and problem solver by placing them on a path to become leaders and collaborators while gaining a sense of the transformative power of art and design — both within themselves and their communities.

BhamFEAST is organized entirely by volunteer professionals from within the design community and by lead sponsor Create Birmingham.

To donate to the Kuumba Community Arts – Teen Design Academy, click here: bit.ly/GoFundMe_DesignAcademy
BhamFEAST Deidre
Photography for the event is provided by Bob Miller