The Emphasis Project provides hands-on experiences to emerging teen artists in real world projects. The students participate in producing a video and/or photo-shoot for a final project. They have guided lessons in wardrobe styling, videography, photography, and managing projects. Together the students create a vision for the project that represents how they view what is happening in their communities.

Collectively, everyone will learn and participate in the different aspects of producing a professional artist video and/or photo; however, on the day of the shoot the students will be divided into groups that most intrigue them about the project. Once the photo-shoot is edited and completed the photos will be sent in to a Chicago based magazine. Every student who participates in the development of the project will receive a copy of the work to begin a comprehensive diverse portfolio that can be used for career and college applications. The skills and projects that the students will develop will allow them to compete in a global market.

360 ARTIST helps youth between the ages of 13 to 18 years old understand the proper steps to take when creating and releasing music as independent artists. Our program focuses on the business aspect of the music industry with an emphasis on how to properly protect and be compensated for intellectual property. Over eight-weeks students will spend four hours per week learning about recording, publishing, copyrights, streaming media, and music distribution. Also, books, such as Influential Hip-Hop Artists will be implemented into the curriculum to explore how to create influential music. Throughout the course of the class, students will collaborate on a music project that will allow each student to play a role that reinforces what they have learned. Students will choose between roles such as artist manager, writer, music publisher, and publicist. The final project will be creating and releasing a song onto streaming platforms.