Medicine Wheel Productions

Track Sponsor: Hunt Alternatives Fund and the Elizabeth B. Kreske Foundation

Founded: 2000

Current Revenue: $390,000

Need

For individuals and communities that have experienced chronic stress or trauma, art provides a uniquely effective approach to healing. Unlike conventional interventions, art reaches beyond the rational to the emotional and spiritual levels, opening up new perspectives and dialogues. MWP’s local community, South Boston, is representative of communities worldwide that have struggled over many decades, and where interaction with art provides opportunities for positive change. In South Boston:

33% of young people live in poverty.
The high school dropout rate is twice the rate of Boston Public Schools overall.
The rates of hospitalization and mortality due to substance abuse are the highest of any neighborhood in the city.

About

Medicine Wheel Productions (MWP) engages young people and adults in constructive dialogue through public art to help them build awareness of self, community, and the human condition. The practice of creating, presenting, and witnessing art provides opportunities to experience moments of profound recognition that can be pivotal in transforming an individual's perspective of himself or herself and his or her community. As part of its commitment to inclusion, MWP engages young people who have experienced isolation, addiction, racism, poverty, and court involvement in all aspects of production and presentation of the art. Recognizing, that issues of inclusion and healing know no borders, MWP projects range from the local to the international, from South Boston to the border region of Ireland. Every day, MWP sees the healing and transformative effects of art on individuals and communities and envisions a world where art furthers reconciliation, civic engagement, inclusion, and peaceful coexistence.

Key Accomplishments

Engagement with art has been shown to improve community connectedness and reduce problems related to delinquent behavior among young people. MWP’s model of engaging young people alongside adults to create and experience art is uniquely positioned to positively impact the individuals and communities where it is most needed, both locally and abroad.

MWP works with a diverse mix of over 300 young people each year, providing them with skills and support.
Annually, over 3,000 people across Massachusetts experience MWP’s public art installations.
MWP has been honored by the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center and the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston.

Join the Cause

In-Kind Support

Office equipment (copier, phone system)
Printing services and stationery
Strategy, branding, human resource expertise
New board members and strategic board support

Financial Support

$30,000 – Full-time, salaried assistant from 19–25 year old age group
$5,000 – Planting materials for No Man's Land
$1,000 – Stipend for one young participant in summer program

Learn More

Want to learn more about Medicine Wheel Productions? View their full Social Innovation Forum prospectus here

Contact Information

Tabatha Flores
Managing Director
(617) 268-6700
tflores@mwproductions.org