Individuals in the metro Detroit area with intellectual or developmental disabilities and an interest in art, fashion, or fashion design are encouraged to take a continuing course at Detroit College for Creative Studies.
The nine-week Fashion Fridays & Wearable Art course, which began July 8, is being offered at CCS in partnership with Gesher Human Services (formerly JVS + Kadima) through the nonprofit’s multidisciplinary arts program, Creative Expressions.
Students in the program are participants in Choices, a Creative Expression program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All concepts for creative expression programs are based entirely on the interest of the participants, says program director Craig Nowak.
“Many attendees showed interest and talked about fashion,” Nowak said. “The staff pushed the idea and I reached out to our partners at CCS.”
The courses are being taught by Joye Ofei, master staff artist at the CCS Community Arts Partnership. Participants may register for as many classes as they wish to attend. So far the classes have been held for about eight to 12 students with the hope of reaching 30 by the end of the program.
“We wanted to encourage fashion-focused creativity for our Choices members, and teaming up with the professional artists at CCS gave us a wonderful opportunity to do just that,” said Nowak. “Designing clothes and accessories is a unique way to express your style and we know it will give our members confidence and pride while learning new skills for self-expression.”
While each week offers a new outfit or accessory, the overall theme is African-inspired patterns and designs. So far the participants have been able to design and create hats and shawls or scarves.
“There are a lot of fabrics that have patterns and colors that are thousands of years old that are found in Africa,” said Larry Lunsford, assistant director for Education and Outreach for the Community Arts Partnership at CCS. “You should see the smiles of the participants as they go through the course.”
Clothes are tailored to the artist’s measurements so they can be worn after the program is over.
This is the first fashion and clothing art class that Gesher has hosted with CCS. In the coming weeks students are scheduled to create bags, purses, pendants, wristbands, leather anklets and elbows, leather sandals and adinkra symbols from Ghana, Africa.
At the end of the nine-week course, participants have the opportunity to participate in a fashion show to showcase their work.
A member of the Choices program, Sally Greco has always appreciated the arts and was excited to enroll in the class.
Each week she can be found in dressmaking class working on a new project. So far her favorite part has been designing a decorative headpiece.
“I like art,” Greco said. “I have a big book called ‘1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die’ which talks about artists and their biographies that I like.”
In the past Greco learned to make pillowcases from her mother and enjoys drawing at the Choices space in Gesher.
“Students show pride in their work by wanting to share their finished artwork with others in the classroom and with those at home,” Lunsford said.
Creative Expressions programs are offered year-round, including an ongoing music program with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a theater program with Matrix Theater Company, and a dance program with the Detroit Opera.
For more information about Gesher Human Services, visit jvshumanservices.org. For more information about Creative Expressions, a Gesher program, visit shopcreativeexpressions.com.
