BY ABIGAIL GILMORE
Michael Schwartz has been involved in the community for more than 30 years, but his current role as executive director for the Tucson Arts Brigade brings new challenges and joy to his life every single day.
Tucson Arts Brigade (TAB) is a civically engaged arts and education organization that animates and enlivens communities in Tucson, throughout the United States, and around the world through murals, dance, theater, puppetry, events, special projects and community action. Since 1996, TAB has been bringing communities together through sustainable art and communication.
Schwartz said the TAB works with neighborhood associations and schools when there is a need for art-based services, art education or movement arts. “There are a lot of neat outcomes – individual outcomes or larger outcomes — that impact an entire neighborhood or area,” he said. “It has to be a movement or group of people.”
Schwartz credits much of their success to the power of art. “The great thing about the arts is that it transcends differences,” he said. “When people get involved in creating a piece of art, they feel validated. It’s an inspiring experience for people.”
Schwartz said many Tucson-based Brigade programs have focused on cleaning up tagged (spray painted) buildings, and/or converting vandalized walls or structures into murals. “Going around Tucson, you can see quite a bit of tagging,” he said. But Schwartz and the TAB staff think about the people who are doing the tagging from a different perspective than many others. “This is their way of speaking out and trying to get attention, a place in society, a voice. By tagging, they feel empowered,” he said. Interestingly enough, through many TAB programs, which allow community volunteers to participate, the taggers have been known to join in cleaning up the very damage they created.
TAB is about more than just cleaning up cities and involving people in the arts, Schwartz said. It’s about bettering communities. Some TAB programs focus on teaching children about saving money and finance. “It starts with understanding the way credit works — taking control of their own credit and understanding how checking accounts work and understanding how to budget,” Schwartz said. “Then, these children teach the people around them. That’s really exciting to go from keeping money under the mattress to trusting the bank and opening a savings account. When people ‘get it…’ when their eyes light up and they’re like, ‘Oh this is really powerful stuff — that’s what it’s really all about’ I love encouraging people to find their voice, and that’s what TAB does.”
To donate to the Tucson Arts Brigade or purchase an item for their “wish list,” please visit www.tucsonartsbrigade.org.
