Jackson Free Press

At first glance, the Jackson Community Design Center isn't easy to recognize; it is merely another red brick building on Capitol Street. But step inside and you'll find a creative room with paintings and various other artwork. This artistic wonderland is the work site for 30 teenagers from the Boys and Girls Club of Central Mississippi.

Hosted by the JCDC, the Jackson Is Art summer camp encourages community awareness and urban planning for youth. The teenagers are learning about how to create city models and master plans for Jackson through architecture, art and math.

Whitney Grant, co-director of the JCDC, says the camp is a way to promote progressive and creative thinking among youth.

"I want to get them talking about their city and start recognizing issues or recognizing really positive things," Grant says. "Many of the kids, most of who come from South and West Jackson, didn't have the most positive outlook on the city prior to the camp."

Grant hopes that by viewing the city with a creative eye, campers will change their opinions. She says they're witnessing the urban renewal of downtown because counselors allow the teens, who document city blocks and create maps of their neighborhoods, to explore on their own.

"Jackson isn't just a city in Mississippi, it's filled with art. Whether it's a sunset, a building or just some highways on a map, simple things can be art," says 15-year-old Marnisha Toney, an upcoming sophomore at Bailey Magnet High School, as she describes a piece of artwork she created while participating in the camp.

The campers are developing visions of what they would like the city to be. When asked about his experience at Jackson is Art, 17-year-old Darius Coleman, a rising senior at Murrah High School, said the city was "on the come up."

"I'd like to see more modern buildings, more advanced architecture, like the Convention Complex," Coleman says.

Merika Carr, another 15-year-old rising sophomore at Bailey Magnet, says that she appreciates new developments such as the Standard Life Building and the King Edward Hotel but she would like to improve the buildings' surroundings.

"Now that they have built the King Edward, we still have little abandoned buildings around it which make it look bad," she says.

Even the counselors are gaining something from the program.

"We do (video) interviews with these kids and ask them to describe Jackson in one word, and they are all so interesting, because none of them said the same thing," Grant says. "One of the campers told me her goal in life was to be 'fulfill-ionaire,'--becoming a billionaire, fulfilling her dreams--and even if she wasn't rich she would still be a fulfill-ionaire ... I was amazed at some of the responses we got because it showed me how bright these children really are."

Working with of Grant are camp counselors Neil Polen and Shannon Gathings, who both recently graduated from Mississippi State University School of Architecture, and Jackson State University graduate student Shauncey Battle. The four counselors work with the campers to develop art projects that target innovation throughout their communities.

Polen says the interviews and the activities during the camp will be compiled into a documentary that will portray images of youth in Jackson hoping for a brighter, cleaner and more economically advanced environment.

The camper's artwork along with the documentary will be shown at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Mississippi next month.

"We are just trying to tell a story about what these kids see in the city, and give them a chance to have their voice heard," Grant says.