The Canyon Hills Project
Ava Sauter, The Matthews’ community outreach manager, presents on the ongoing art residency program at the Canyon Hills Center in Spearfish.

In 2016, and most recently 2017, the Spearfish Area Community Foundation granted the Matthews Opera House and Arts Center (MOH) $10,000 for a year of residencies at the Canyon Hills Center – a residential youth psychiatric facility – which will be empirically evaluated in association with Black Hills State University Psychology Department.  Funding will cover materials, staff time, potential travel expenses, and the payment of artists.

Presenters

Aris Karagiorgakis, BHSU Psychology professor
Dr. Aris Karagiorgakis is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Black Hills State University who conducts research in two areas: art as therapy and the effectiveness of art intervention programs.
His current research investigates the “active ingredients” in art-making that contribute to the reported therapeutic benefits (i.e., lower stress/anxiety levels). He is also investigating the effectiveness of an art intervention program in an in-patient facility for adolescents with psychiatric illnesses. 

Ian Craig, Researcher, Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology – supervisor at Canyon Hills Center

Ava Sauter, Community Outreach Manager for the Matthews Opera House and Arts Center

“Telling Your Story”

Speakers present their research and results on the evaluation of a year-long art residency program with the Canyon Hills Center, a youth Psychiatric facility in Spearfish. The study evaluated daily scores of the students who participated in the weekly art program to explore possible relationships between the program and positive behavioral changes. The residences were built around the theme of “Telling Your Story.” This theme encouraged emotional exploration, self-expression, creativity, and inspiration. The program goal was to provide broad exposure to many different forms of art and artists, with the overlying goal of improving the lives of residents and creating a better environment for both residents and staff. Local artists provided two to five week residencies in various areas of the arts, including: dance, theater, pottery, collage, sculpture, songwriting, and poetry, to name a few. Results presented in this talk show the first quarter analysis – meaning, results for the first four months.

What is the Bellman?

The Bellman Brown Bag series is a humanities program designed to explore ideas, history, literature, art and culture.  Programs are presented on the second Wednesday of each month, noon to 1:00 p.m.  Designed to begin and end within each lunch hour, patrons are invited to bring their lunch, if desired, or simply enjoy an hour of learning and entertainment.