Zumix

ZUMIX is a non-profit cultural organization dedicated to using the arts, particularly music, to build community, foster cultural understanding, and encourage self-expression among youth in the diverse neighborhood of East Boston. ZUMIX works primarily with low-income or at-risk youth, ranging in age from 8 to 18.

Mission Statement

The mission of ZUMIX is empowered youth who use music to make strong positive change in their lives, their communities, and the world.

History

Begun as a tiny operation run out of the homes of co-founders Madeleine Steczynski and Bob Grove, ZUMIX was founded in 1991, in response to a growing number of homicides—many of them among youth—in Boston. Addressing the problems of escalating violence, substance abuse and mortality, and the growing underserved youth population of East Boston, ZUMIX sought to provide alternative ways for youth to deal with frustration, anger and fear. Local academic and athletic programming was well supported in the area, however, East Boston youth had virtually no access to arts programming. ZUMIX is now located at 202 Maverick Street, near Maverick Square, and serves approximately 350 youth per year in after-school and summer programs.

Inspiration

The original inspiration for ZUMIX came from ZUMIX director and cofounder Madeleine Steczynski’s involvement in the punk scene. The ZUMIX philosophy draws from the punk values of challenging the status quo, and of the social and political empowerment of youth through music.

Demographic

Over the past decade, East Boston has seen a huge increase in Latino residents along with significant growth in African-American residents. According to the 2000 Census, Latinos now comprise 39% of the East Boston community, compared with 14% of Boston as a whole. Most East Boston Latinos are Salvadoran (39%) and Colombian (24%). In fact, the transformation of East Boston’s population has been more rapid and dramatic than that of any other part of the city during this period. One quarter of East Boston children live in poverty - more among minority children. The median per capita income in East Boston is $15,168. The poverty rate is nearly 20% - and 40% for female-headed households with children under age 18. Most of the young people we serve come from families headed by single mothers, many from immigrant families where the language spoken at home is not English (in most cases Spanish).

Participation in our programs reflects these local demographics. We serve a mixture of 42% Latino/a; 30% White; 20% Black, and 8% Asian youth. Seventy percent of ZUMIX youth live in East Boston, 25% live in other Boston neighborhoods, and 5% live in adjacent communities. Participants in our programs range in age from 5 to 25. Some ZUMIX participants are court involved, roughly 20% live in public housing and 40% receive public assistance. Ninety-five percent are low or moderate income by HUD standards.

Programs

ZUMIX believes that arts and cultural opportunities are fundamental to human progress and are the most powerful means to building community. To this end, ZUMIX offers two types of programs, HANDS-ON Youth Development Programs, and COMMUNITY ARTS Access & Exposure Programs.

HANDS-ON Youth Development ProgramsHANDS-ON offers award winning music and technology programs with an emphasis on personal guidance, self-assessment and leadership development. HANDS-ON involves at-risk youth in a series of linked programs designed to help participants articulate their dreams, examine their obstacles, and navigate successfully from adolescence to young adulthood.

Our core HANDS-ON Youth Development programs focus on 1) songwriting and performance, 2) instrumental music and 3) creative technology. HANDS-ON includes: the Summer Street Program, where participants write and perform original songs with strong, positive messages; StreetWise, an after-school songwriting and recording program, offering young songwriters an opportunity to explore personal and social issues as they develop musically; the Warmth Program, in which young people learn popular songs from the past, performing them at nursing homes and long-term care facilities during February vacation; Adventures in Music, offering private and group music lessons to students of all ages and abilities throughout the year; Z-TECH, a year-round technical training program in audio and computer technologies, giving participants job skills and the opportunity to work; ZUMIX RADIO, a low-powered radio station training young people to produce and host their own radio shows on our new low-powered, community radio station, thereby sharing their views (through music and dialogue) with a broad listening audience; and, The Village, where ZUMIX staff, participants and friends discuss music, pop-culture, current events, and social issues.

COMMUNITY ARTS Access and Exposure Program As part of our COMMUNITY ARTS program we have taken a leadership role in making arts and culture a more accessible and vital part of local life. COMMUNITY ARTS programs are designed to engage local artists with the community, and provide a context for our work with young people, helping them connect with local organizing efforts and serve as assets for many local agencies. ZUMIX runs two large-scale community festivals and participates in many others. We work on special collaborative art projects like East Boston Open Studios, and present two outdoor summer music series dedicated to celebrating the diversity of our neighborhood and connecting East Boston to its greatest physical asset, the waterfront. By working together with residents and small business owners who provide us with in-kind products and services, arts based economic development has caught on here!Fact|date=February 2007

ZUMIX Graduates

* Justin Zullo (a.k.a. Conundrum) went on to study audio engineering at the Art Institute of New England. He then landed a full-time job at at Soundscape Studio recording and editing academic books on tape. in 2006 Justin received a full four-year scholarship to Brandeis University. He is continuing his education, while working part-time at Soundscape. He is also lead vocalist in the Hip Hop band Zullo. They play live in local Boston clubs, including an upcoming VIP show at ZUMIX on February 16th, and a live show at Great Scott on February 28th.
* Inesha Travis received a full four-year scholarship to Boston College. She is in her first year, and often visits ZUMIX to share stories of college life
* Latoria Boyd went to the Berklee SYSTEM 5 summer program, where she received a full-four-year scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music. She is a first year vocal performance student.

References

Citation
Author-link+Associated Press
title=Homicide Rate in Young Men Studied
newspaper= Boston Globe
year=1994
date=October 1994

Citation
last=Dezell
first+Maureen
Author-link+Maureen Dezell
title=A Creative Migration Makes Eastie Artsy
newspaper=Boston Globe
year=1994
date=October 1994

Citation
title=Research: East Boston Neighborhood Profiles
url=http://www.bestplaces.net/zip-code/02128
access-date=2-10-07

Citation
last+U.S. Census Bureau
title=Research: 2000 Census
url=http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
access-date=2-10-07

Citation
last=Boston Public Health Commission
title=Research: Health Status Report for East Boston
url=http://www.bphc.org/reports/pdfs/report_201.pdf
access-date=2-15-07

Citation
last=Boston Redevelopment Authority
title=Research: Boston's Planning and Economic Development Agency
url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/JCS/Programs.asp?action=ViewProgram&Program_ID=1293
access-date=2-15-07

External links

[http://www.zumix.org/ ZUMIX official website]

[http://www.socialinnovationforum.org/finalists/finalists2006.shtml/ Social Innovation Forum Finalists (Prospectus)]