OFF HOURS: Marcus Civin '99: program director at Project New Urban Arts

That's just one of the things about the project that Marcus Civin '99 (left) finds appealing. Civin is the program director of the project, which was founded in 1997 by Brown and RISD students as a way to create mentoring relationships through the arts with young people ages 12 through 18. (The project has since become a private non-profit organization.)

Through visual and performing arts, mentor and student explore the artist within, while opening up to one another. "We talk about issues in their day-to-day lives, and give them things to think about," Civin says. And every once in a while, "we sneak in a discussion about artistic technique," he adds, smiling.

Because being a teen in an urban setting can present a variety of challenges, the mentors receive training through several organizations, such as the Providence Center. They also develop relationships with school counselors at nearby Central and Classical high schools, Civin says.

Nearly every surface of the gallery at 743 Westminster St. features something created by the artists. On one recent afternoon, wire sculptures sit in one window. Paintings - some done by the mentors, others by students and employees at Central High - hang on the walls. A poem and accompanying illustrations take shape on a roll of paper. Downstairs, black-and-white photographs dry in the darkroom.

Often, Civin says, Project New Urban Arts is the first place a young person has been taken seriously as an artist. In fact, many of the high school students who participate in the program never thought of themselves as artistic. "We treat them like artists, give them respect and identity as an artist," says Civin. "It continues to amaze me" to see how such an opportunity helps "people come out of themselves," he said.

The same could be said of Civin. A theater concentrator who has taken numerous courses in visual arts, Civin considers himself a painter. "I'm inspired by what students have taught me," he says. "They've encouraged me to incorporate words and figures into my work."

Part of the project's mission is to mount exhibitions - not only in the Westminster Street studio, but at such places as RISD and the Sarah Doyle Gallery and at First Night too. Seeing their work treated on par with an established artist's can be a turning point for young people. Civin described the experience of one young woman, a freshman at Central High School at the time, whose work was placed on exhibition at a RISD gallery. Her sculpture of a brother who died as an infant was beautifully lit in a special case. "She walked in and she didn't recognize her own work it looked so amazing in that backdrop," said Civin.

Civin plans to remain in Providence after graduation later this month so that he can continue advancing Project New Urban Arts' mission. He'll continue to mentor high school students while trying to garner support - financial and otherwise - from businesses, galleries and civic organizations. The Project New Urban Arts gallery is open from 1-5 p.m. - Tracie Sweeney