ASTEP at Project CREO
ASTEP provides year-round arts education for Project CREO’s programs located in the central historic district of Quito, Ecuador. Programming is focused on at-risk youth, ages 7-16, while simultaneously working with local parents and school teachers within the community. The demographic that ASTEP and CREO Arte work with faces high levels of poverty, domestic abuse, school drop-outs, street violence, and crime. ASTEP volunteers arrive throughout the school year and work to ensure the success and sustainability of two major programs: CREO in the School and CREO in the Center.
- CREO in the School is an in-school program provided to local Municipal government schools with the goal of working towards a more integrated educational approach in the classroom. CREO and ASTEP teaching artists work with school teachers to develop an original creadruma (music drama) that engages script writing, music composition, acting, movement and visual arts to explore curriculum with a more active and creativeapproach. After the students prepare the original piece, it is shared with their local community.
- CREO in the Center is an after-school program offered in the arts center, which includes a newly constructed professional studio for recording/editing/
international video calls as well as studios for art, music, and theater/film. At-risk youth can voluntarily inscribe into the program and attend on a weekly basis throughout the semester to work with the CREO Arte and ASTEP facilitators - creating original arts projects (visual arts, music composition, and storytelling through short films and theater) while formulating and working towards personal goals. At the end of the process, CREO Arte hosts world premier events to share the work with local and international communities.
+ Visit Get Involved to learn more about becoming an ASTEP Volunteer Artist!
Watch this video which highlights our program in Quito!!
Project CREO uses the powerful tool of the arts to offer at-risk youth opportunities to believe in themselves and to create lives that they love. This is done through effective arts programming focused on goal setting and establishing positive habits while connecting the local community.
CREO: (v.) First person singular of Spanish verbs CREAR (to create) and CREER (to believe).”
