Workshop Houston is a direct-learning arts education institution built around a well-tested pedagogy of culturally specific arts-based project learning. In its professionally-outfitted studio/classrooms – Beat Shop (music production), Dance Shop (dance and movement), Media Shop (video production and digital media), and Style Shop (fashion design and sewing) – youth work to master technical skills, develop a meaningful creative practice, and gain academic confidence. Workshop Houston is focused on centering youth voice and emancipatory processes as the key to achieving the organization’s long-held values. Recently this focus has resulted in a program evolution of hiring program graduates as near-peer instructors and youth leaders. This new initiative integrates Workshop Houston’s direct-learning arts programs, youth voice and leadership development, and the economic support that youth from low-income families need in order to focus on their education and personal growth.

Workshop Houston’s after school and summer programs on its Third Ward campus include recurring Starter Courses for each shop, taught by near-peer instructors supported by adult teaching artists. Starter courses introduce youth to Workshop Houston’s culture and teach the basic skills of the shops’ artistic mediums. These are followed by a rotating series of Intermediate Courses that dive deeper into technical skills and Elective Projects that push students to experiment creatively. In addition to on-campus courses, Workshop Houston leads artist residencies at nearby schools as an educational services vendor, and organizes regular public events to showcase student works and the talents of community-based artists.