|
Home > Programs > Dallas > Advocate Profile > Page 2
Thinking about What's Possible
An Interview with Giselle Antoni, Executive Director of Big Thought, Dallas, Texas
At the end of the day, what is the impact of Big Thought in the Dallas community? What have you done that is unique?
I think the partnership has allowed our
community to really dream about designing and doing programming
in the arts that impacts every child in our city, not just some
children, which is extremely important. There
are a lot of great arts in education programs across the country
and the basic principles of what makes arts in education powerful
in the lives of young people are really the same everywhere. I
think the real trick is how do you make sure that not just some
children have access to those powerful experiences, but all children
have access to them? That's the question we tried
to ask in Dallas and that we continue to struggle to answer. Listen 
Can you share a story about a child that you've impacted that stands out in your mind?
I'll tell you the story of Danny. Danny was sent to us because he was in trouble with the law. He was fourteen at the time we started working with him. In an interview at the end of his first year with us said, ‘Art is my drug of choice. This is the thing that I do that makes me feel good about myself and makes me believe that I can do anything.’ He came back and worked with us a second year as a mentor to other kids. Listen
He was with us until he was 17 and the
last time we saw him was three or four years ago. He graduated
from high school and got back into school, back into his community
and family. When he was in college, he wrote us a letter
to let us know that he believed now, as a man, that the experience
he had creating theatre and art was the thing that made a difference
in his life—he believed that that was the thing that helped
him to make better choices and kept him engaged in his community. He
was getting a degree in broadcasting at a college in Kansas. He
was the local DJ. That’s an example of a child, by
his own testimony, who says, his experience made all of the difference
in the direction his life took. Listen |
