True Skool Inc., a nonprofit youth arts organization, plans to offer its after-school Urban Arts Program in a 9,800-square-foot space at the Shops of Grand Avenue in the Plankinton Building at 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. in downtown Milwaukee, according to a proposal submitted to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BOZA).
True Skool’s Urban Arts Program serves more than 250 youth annually through after-school and in-school programs, the organization says. The Grand Avenue location is expected to serve 125 youth annually through the after-school program.
The Urban Arts Program provides instruction in art, music and dance, “through a social justice lens with a focus on community service, civic engagement and entrepreneurialism,” according to the organization’s BOZA submission. “Youth participants explore being professional artists, dancers, and musicians by learning project management, budgeting, contracts, and other skills necessary to become entrepreneurs and find careers in the creative industries.”
The Urban Arts Program runs three days a week during each session, both after school and in the summer.
Programming offered at True Skool is free for the youth participants, but they must complete 10 hours of community service. The proposed space for the program is located underneath the TJ Maxx store at the Shops of Grand Avenue.
