Kansas City nonprofit, Art As Mentorship, will launch its innovative youth songwriter program The Rebel Song Academy as an online curriculum. The classes, held as video conference workshops, are mini-master classes where youth will work through real world creative challenges.
The inaugural online program will feature Grammy Award winning producer, Steve Berlin, Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Asdru Sierra of Ozomatli, Ed Arenas of Chicano Batman, and members of Flor De Toloache as guest artists. Members of band Making Movies will be the workshop hosts and curators. The workshop series is sponsored by InterUrban Arthouse, Music Across Borders, and Lifted Logic.
The Rebel Song Academy is Art As Mentorship s flagship program which takes youth songwriters through an intensive program that utilizes momentum from the creative spark to segway into developing the creative process.
Art As Mentorship (AM) is a community arts nonprofit created in 2017 by Enrique Chi, the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Kansas City band Making Movies. In 2018, AAM launched The Rebel Song Academy, a three-month long program that empowers young people through songwriting to raise their voice and also learn entrepreneurial skills.
"We are very excited to launch our online curriculum to young and aspiring songwriters--this is a dream opportunity for young people to ask advice from masters of their craft and it s an opportunity to stay inspired in this dark time", said Enrique Chi, founding member of Making Movies.
Enrique Chi of Making Movies is a recurring guest on NPR s Alt Latino program as a voice from the musical communities response to the new landscape because of COVID-19.
The program is syndicated to over sixty stations nationwide and the first episode can be heard HERE.
WORKSHOP SIGN UP - HERE NPR ALT LATINO - HERE
April 7 | ft. Diego Chi of Making Movies
April 14 | ft. Steve Berlin of Los Lobos + Jeff Saltzman
April 21 | ft. Asdru Sierra of Ozomatli
April 28 | ft. Louie Perez of Los Lobos
May 5 | ft. Flor de Toloache
May 12 | ft. Ed Arenas of Chicano Batman
