Walker Rezaian Creative Hearts

The program was created in 2013 by Youth in Arts and the Rezaian family to celebrate their son Walker’s life and his love for the arts. Walker also knew how to be a good friend. The Walker Rezaian Creative HeArts program builds important social emotional skills through innovative art lessons. Each class begins with a movement warmup and ends with reflection time so students can practice observing and discussing what they see: they learn how to show us and tell us more about themselves through their pictures.

n her first year teaching the program at Loma Verde, Suzanne Joyal described the process as joyful: “I was delighted by how willing the children were to take a risk and to express themselves in their own way. After lessons, teachers would sometimes express that a child was having difficulty and the only way they could share their emotions was through the artistic process. I couldn’t tell which child it was since they all responded so positively to the art.”

Studies have shown this program helps children succeed academically as they continue to the next grade. We love working with students who have completed the program as it provides an important foundation for Youth in Arts residencies in older grades.

The 12-week residency also includes professional development workshops for teachers, a family art night, a gallery exhibition of student art and a community event celebrating  the young artists.