Anjelica Monet Vargas has witnessed art transform people. As founder and chief creative of Come Alive Long Beach, she has seen how a couple of hours of art a day can provide a safe space for under-resourced children.
Her nonprofit organization, which creates affordable, creative and immersive art lessons from professionals for children ages 6 to 15, is entering its seventh summer serving the community beginning July 11.
“We really do feel like it’s like something comes alive in them and it’s so beautiful to see,” Vargas said of the students in the program. “I just keep learning right alongside all of the instructors and students and just try to bring in as much as I can to expose them to because I know you can find inspiration in all sorts of things.”
Many of the students enrolled are from a church in North Long Beach, from the foster care system or have experienced homelessness in their past, and spots are given to those who need it most on a case-by-case basis.
They also offer scholarships for families that are interested, but may lack the resources to pay the $45 fee. All art supplies are given to children a week before the lessons begin, covering every tool the child may need, “down to the paper towels they need to clean up,” Vargas said.
The lessons not only expose the students to new creative mediums, but also teach children ways to cope with stress and “self-regulate their emotions” through art and meditation, Vargas explained.
Vargas was inspired by her own experience as one of three children in her family, where summer vacation meant she was in charge of taking care of her younger brother.
“I knew what it was like to have a summer where I kind of would become a parent and a caretaker, so this is supposed to be a space where the students get to be students,” Vargas said. “And the older sibling can be with older kids and the younger ones with the younger ones, and everyone gets to be a kid.”
Children in the program are divided by age groups—6 to 9, 10 to 12, and 13 to 15—then paired up with a volunteer who stays with the same group to build “consistency” and “trust” with the students, even as the instructors may change throughout the day, Vargas said.
The sense of community often results in a visible change from students, explained Karen Ortiz, who has volunteered with the program for six years.
“I saw kids who were very shy kids that didn’t want to talk to anybody, for example, or were not happy that their guardians were dropping them off for a few hours a day at a church, within weeks, start to light up and look forward to the next day’s lesson,” Ortiz said.
Previous year’s lessons have included needlework, culinary lessons, performing arts and poetry. The instructors however, are a mix of old and new faces, creating a consistent community for the students involved.
“You see the kids really open up, really engage and even share very personal things, very touching things,” Vargas said. “And some of them discover hidden talents because they tried poetry, they tried songwriting, they tried painting or drawing and didn’t realize they’re fantastic. And here they have a professional telling them, ‘You could have a future in this’ or, ‘This is something you should really pursue.’”
This year, muralist Ronnie Robles will be returning for his seventh summer and will be teaching students how to create dot art, where they will create patterns of dots that eventually turn into an image.
A first for the program, Come Alive LB will have Ebony Perry-Retana, a certified yoga therapy practitioner and multimedia arts educator, lead a yoga and meditation stream on Facebook to kick off the program.
Come Alive LB was previously held over the course of multiple weeks and in person, but it has been shifted to a hybrid system due to the ongoing pandemic. Virtual art and meditation lessons will be held Monday through Thursday, leading up to an in-person color run Friday, July 15.
To sign up a child ages 6 to 15, contact comealivelb@gmail.com. Scholarships are given on a case-by-case basis and require proof of financial burden.
