Spark House provides high-quality arts education programs and professional development to youth, staff, and administrators in schools and non-traditional learning settings. We facilitate experiences that empower youth voices in settings where these opportunities traditionally do not exist.
If not poetry, then what? We believe imagination and creativity are the secret ingredients to excite classrooms. Poetry has always created space for voices to be heard and is a great builder of community. Therefore, Spark House was created to foster community between young people with poetry as the point of access.
One of our most effective ways of engaging youth is through our Residency Program. During a Spark House Residency, Teaching Artists partner with a classroom teacher and work closely with a group of students throughout the duration of a residency project. Residencies include:
WORKSHOPS
12-16 weekly or bi-weekly writing and performance workshops.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
An opportunity for educators to integrate arts-based activities into pre-existing curriculum.
ANTHOLOGY
Published compilation of original student writings.
CULMINATING EVENT
Public showcase and celebration of original student works including: live DJ entertainment, guest artists, and student performances.
SPARK HOUSE SWAG
T-Shirts, journals, and paraphernalia to customize the residency experience.
Each dollar is put directly toward funding our Residency Program. This includes securing a venue and hiring a professional producing team for a culminating event, editing and publishing an anthology, sponsoring guests artists, and additional residency essentials (please see blow). Though we've minimized our budget to off-set total residency costs, we're still seeking support to jumpstart our program. With community at the core of the Spark House model, we're asking you to join our community in creating spaces for young people to be heard.
Important to note: Along with Residency costs, we've included an additional 10% to account for the mandatory fees Start Some Good deducts for hosting our campaign. Donations are not deductible.
Najee Omar is a Brooklyn-based writer, performance artist, and educator using theatre, music, and poetry to engage community. A Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop fellow, his selected readings and features include Russell Simmons' All Def Poetry, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Au Chat Noir (Paris), and colleges and universities across the United States. As a teaching artist, he’s turned classrooms into stages by conducting poetry and theatre workshops for inner city teens and high-need youth in schools across the New York City and Los Angeles areas. In 2013, he began instructing poetry/creative writing workshops with incarcerated youth on Rikers Island, an initiative that changed the breadth of his work beyond imagination. Najee's mission is to cultivate an audience of deep thinkers and inspire the next generation of change agents, one word at a time.
