About MeMA Music
Our Mission
We empower youth from underserved communities of all backgrounds and abilities through arts integration that combines powerful music, literacy, and real-world learning to promote self-discovery, critical thinking, creativity, and an understanding of the world around them.
Our Team
We are a group of teaching artists who have developed engaging multidisciplinary programs that integrate art, music, social studies, technology, civics, literacy, and social-emotional learning in the middle and high school grades to explore how the arts shape perspectives, inspire dialogue, and, reflect the world around us.
Our Goals
We equip youth with the skills to navigate today’s complex world, think critically, and engage meaningfully with their communities. Through the lens of timeless and powerful music, we explore literacy, history, society, and civics. In partnership with diverse schools and community organizations, we work to expand access to high-quality arts education across Chicago.
Our Work
We use music to help students develop reading and writing skills, learn about historical events and societies, and stay informed about current events and the world around them. Students analyze song lyrics to explore artists’ messages about past and present events. This approach sparks meaningful discussions and equips students with the skills to navigate the world by understanding systems, processes, and other essential aspects of 21st-century learning. Music can be a powerful teaching tool because it combines storytelling with rhythm and emotion, making information easier to remember.
At the core of our program, students are encouraged to take charge of their learning. They choose a topic that is meaningful to them, research it, and then share their findings through creative writing—lyrics, spoken word, stories, poetry, multimedia projects, and live performances in front of classmates, teachers, parents, and the community at a special event to showcase their work.
PROGRAM PARTNERS
Let’s work together.
