TBEY Arts Center Contessa Lobley Teaches Urban Youth

×

Expand

Photo by Tom Jenz

Contessa Lobley

Contessa Lobley

If you practice the arts, whether drawing and painting, photography or music, acting or dancing, you know it’s difficult to get your work seen. Or perhaps, you enjoy the arts, but you’re not an artist. Or maybe you never had arts training as a kid.

Contessa Lobley knows kids need creative expression. That is why she founded the TBEY Arts Center in 2000 when she was only 16, and a sophomore at John Marshall High School. Twenty-three years later, she has expanded her TBEY student arts programs all over the Milwaukee area.

Contessa describes the TBEY Arts Center as an educational organization for the urban community where arts programs are taught to youth members who otherwise might have little or no opportunity to learn these skills because of location or cost.

“Whether our students become artists themselves, work in an arts-related field, enjoy the arts as patrons or support the arts through donations, our vision is for the arts to contribute positively to young people’s lives,” she said in an interview in her offices on Prospect near Whole Foods.

Tell me about your background, where you grew up, your parents, neighborhoods, schools you attended. Then, take me through your career path.

My family had a home in the Sherman Park neighborhood in the inner city. Later, we moved to the Wauwatosa area. My mom was in nursing, and she still is. Loves to take care of people. My dad was a deejay for various functions and block parties. He also worked in factories. I went to John Marshall High School, and I focused on the business program. But performing arts was my passion, and I have participated in dance lessons and performances since I was a young kid. My older sister is a visual artist, and my younger sister is one of our lead choreographers here at the TBEY Arts Center.

Did you go to college right away after high school?

Yes, I attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the School of Business. My goal was to open up a dance studio or dance company. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur in the arts. I actually started TBEY when I was 16 at John Marshall High School. Back then, it was getting harder for girls interested in dance to pay for lessons. Then, there were budget cuts at Milwaukee Public Schools in the arts budget. And that’s why I started TBEY—in order to give kids more opportunities in dance. We did talent shows at venues like Capital Court. TBEY is an acronym for “Tessa’s Black Entertainment and Youth Center.” I was inspired by watching musical performances on BET, Black Entertainment Television.

You loved the arts and dance. So why did you major in business?

If you run a nonprofit, you need to know business. But in my junior year of college, I switched to the School of Education, but I do have a minor in Business. In 2004, I established my nonprofit 501c3 TBEY Arts Center. We were mostly volunteers, and we started out in the Bucketworks, a creative crafts organization for adults, located across the street from the old Bucks arena. The first summer, we attracted kids from 10 to 19. We had visual art, music, theater, and dance programs all taught by adult volunteers.

Take me through the process of how TBEY became the large organization it is today.

Over a period of time, we began working with schools. We filled the gap for schools that did not have arts programming. TBEY grew, and we had our first office space in the YWCA, which had the incubator program that provided office space for a cheap price. Then, we got a contract with the Boys & Girls Club for our art services. In 2009, we produced our first dance production, A Journey Through Dance, which is still going on each year. We’ve performed at the Marcus Center for 10 years. We have choreographers who teach many dance genres—modern, ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap and salsa. Kids go through three months of intensive training and rehearsal.

How has your nonprofit TBEY Arts Center been funded through the years?

Mostly grants. For instance, the Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and both the Wisconsin and Milwaukee Arts Boards. I write the grant applications. For eight years, we’ve been contracted for arts services at some of the Milwaukee Public Schools. Also, a lot of our funding is earned income and individual donations.

How many employees do you have?

I am currently the only full-time employee, and we have seven artistic programming staff on a part time basis.

Can you describe what TBEY does?

We serve the community for students who want to engage and express themselves in the arts. Kids come to us, and we train and mentor them in music, art, theater and dance. We also have the Outreach program where we go into the schools and organizations to provide art education and art services. We have two summer arts camps for kids from nine to 19, and the programs include different arts disciplines. The kids have fun and go on field trips. And every year, we do the theater house production for Journey House on the South Side.

The TBEY Arts Center has a growing list of partners. Who are some of them and what do they contribute?

Besides our funding partners, we partner with Journey House and with the Boys & Girls Clubs. And we are doing a summer program with COA Youth & Family Centers. Our arts programs were in six MPS schools this past year.

You once wrote, quote, “TBEY is changing the lives of our young people one at-a-time.” What do you mean by this, and how is TBEY changing a young person’s life?

TBEY is very family oriented. I personally know all the kids in our programs, and the kids have access to me. I’ve heard kids say, “This feels like a second home for me,” or “This is a safe space for me.” I think that we are saving kids because they could be doing something unproductive. We provide a creative outlet for those kids who lack exposure to the arts. Most of our students stay with the program. Some start at nine years old and stay with us until they graduate from high school. I focus on the parents, too, because they need to understand what it means to be an art parent. But I’ve seen a number of changes in my 23 years of experience.

How would you characterize these changes?

The families seem busier and less able to devote time to their kids’ education. Social media takes up a lot of time for the kids. Smartphones can be their go-to instead of sitting in a class.

TBEY’s focus is on the urban community. You have summer arts camps and also after school programs. What arts courses are offered?

Visual arts, basic drawing, ceramics, photography, dance, music and music theory, vocal music, piano and theater.

The TBEY model offers what you call a three-pronged approach: Explore, Engage & Express. Can you describe how this three-pronged approach works?

We allow kids to explore. What is art? What is theater? Once the kids are on board, we engage them, train and mentor them. And we allow the kids to express themselves with their peers and in their community. They get to perform in productions and show their artwork in student art exhibits.

Reading from your website, “TBEY is a place where the youth call their own, express themselves through the arts, be creative and have fun at the same time.” What would be an example of this approach? 

We are a safe space where kids, ages 6 to 19, are doing something productive by exploring the arts. They are welcomed at whatever level they come in at.

TBEY puts on dance performances and student art exhibitions. Where do those take place?

After each semester, we do a showcase to show parents and families the kids’ art. For example, last spring we did an artwork show at the live creative space in Bay Shore. Also, our kids’ art will be displayed in the atrium at the Marcus Art Center during the rest of the summer and September. And we will be performing our Journey Through Dance show and our Benefit concert in September.