Contributor to the NEA’s Art Works Blog, Rebecca Sutton, published an interview with Deep Center’s executive director, Dare Dukes. They discuss Deep being named one of only 57 recipients of the 2019 NEA Our Town grant and our pedagogy.

DUKES: It’s important for young people to see themselves as powerful cultural agents in their own community, and know that they have the right and the power to get up on a stage or to take pen in hand and publish their story, their perspective. That they don’t need somebody’s permission. That they are enough coming into the space, and they are valued for who they are and what they bring.

I can say that what I just said very much reflects our pedagogy. When we construct learning spaces, and we have adults and youth in the room, everybody is in the room as a co-learner, a co-storyteller with a unique fount of knowledge. We build community and knowledge together, rather than having one smart person in the center telling everybody what to do.

Read the full article here: “Spring Grant Spotlight: Deep Center