The Tom Coston Show

In summer of 2011, Thomas Coston, President of Light Bringer Project, was appointed to the Room13 International Board of Trustees. Light Bringer Project now serves as a a communications conduit for people who want to start new Room13′s in the North American region. We listen, offer advise and share information from our own practice, and that which we learned from the originators of Room13 in Coal, Scotland. Since 2008, and the opening of our first Room13’s here in Southern California, we regularly hear from individuals who want to know how to start one. There’s Room13/Boone, in North Carolina, that is going strong, and Room13/Dillsboro, in Indiana, which officially opened this spring. Other unique Room13 studios are being considered in Tujunga, CA; New York City; Denver, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Oaxaca, Mexico; Bentonville, Arkansas; and Mississauga, in Ontario, Canada. A recent exhibit in Pasadena’s Central Library is inspiring a Room13 start-up all the way in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This capital city has been known for its amazing artists and craftspeople, but we are told this is the eldest of the population. Room13 would provide the setting for the elders to share their creative practices with the youth, so traditions don’t get lost. There are more than 90 Room13 creative studios, with youth at the helm, actively creating art all around the world.

Room 13

Room 13 is an international network of student-driven creative studios founded in 1994 in Coal, Scotland. The initiative has expanded throughout Europe, India, South Africa, North America, and other locations, to include 83 studios worldwide.

The Room 13 studio model is based upon four pillars of learning: philosophical inquiry, creative expression, reciprocal learning, and business enterprise. Each studio is guided by an artist-in-residence, who facilitates the students in their studio practice and achievement of the four stated objectives.

Each studio is led by a student management team, responsible for decision-making and implementation of the business model. Each Room 13 studio, through its business practice, is expected to be self-sustaining to the best of its ability.

In 2008, Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based nonprofit arts organization, established the first Room 13 in North America, at James Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles. The following year, the organization launched the second Room 13 studio at Eliot Middle School in Altadena. Soon after, Room 13 Marjorie, a neighborhood model, was begun in the South Bay area. In the fall of 2010, Light Bringer Project will open the fourth Room 13 studio at John Muir High School in Pasadena.

Saturday, September 25th, from 9:00am to 12:00pm, donations of art supplies will be accepted to start off the new Room 13/John Muir on a good and bountiful foot! Please contribute what you can, new or gently used, art supplies of all kinds, and furniture like tables and chairs are also accepted. Donations may be made by using the PayPal button on this website, or can be sent to our nonprofit organization, Light Bringer Project, and sent to the address shown on this website. Please take your materials to: John Muir High School, in Pasadena, inside the gate on Lincoln Avenue and Wyoming Street. School address is: 1905 Lincoln Ave. Pasadena, CA 91103. If interested in further involvement or to volunteer, please contact us!

In 2009, Eliot Middle School in Altadena, CA, joined the international network of studios known as Room 13. The initiative was begun  in Coal, Scotland, in 1994,  by primary school students who decided to create their own self-sustaining art studio. Soon after, they influenced students in other countries to follow their lead.

The year before, Light Bringer Project launched America’s first Room 13 studio in South Los Angeles, at James Foshay Learning Center. Room 13/Eliot is the second US studio, and the 25th worldwide.

For over 12 years, Light Bringer Project has been engaged in programs which have supported youth in greater Pasadena and across Los Angeles County. Our model is not to deliver arts teaching in the classroom, but to create and provide real-world learning experiences. These programs are designed to inspire, forge mentorships, build communication and life skills, and help students lift themselves up to higher learning and vocational opportunities.

Please go to “Programs and Services” for more information on Room 13, the L.A. Futures Academy, and Expressing Feelings Through Art.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Patricia Hurley                                                           February 21, 2010

Light Bringer Project

(626) 590-1134

Joint Exhibit of Student-Run Creative Studios

shows at Judson Studios Gallery in Highland Park

Unique exhibit asks “How Old Do You Have to be to be an Artist?”

SATURDAY, MARCH 13^TH, 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Students of ROOM 13, an international network of student-operated art studios will show work at The Judson Studios Gallery as part of NELA Art Night. Three ROOM 13 studios, including James Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles, Eliot Middle School in Altadena, and Marjorie Street in South Bay, will showcase paintings, drawings, sculptures, mixed media, assemblage, mural art and animation at this collaborative art installation. The Judson Studios, an internationally known stained glass maker run by five generations of family members, was also the first home to the USC School of Fine Arts until 1920.

Room 13 originated in Caol, Scotland in 1994 and has grown into an international network of student-designed and operated creative studios. It now provides learning and business enterprise skills to students in Scotland, Britain, Nepal, India and South Africa, and is currently expanding to Mexico, Turkey, China and Austria. The director of the Tate Galleries has called Room 13 “the most important model for artistic teaching in school that we have in the UK.”

In 2008, Light Bringer Project, a nonprofit arts provider, engaged with the program’s international trustees and decided to take advantage of this opportunity for our own public school children. Partnering with Project Design Studio, the organization launched the first ROOM 13 in America at James Foshay Learning Center in South Los Angeles. They proceeded to found ROOM 13 at Eliot Middle School in Altadena. The third, and most recent model, ROOM 13 at Marjorie Street, was formed early this year in the South Bay vicinity.

Like its peers, each creative studio operates as a physical space flourishing within a public school or community setting and is solely managed by the students. ROOM 13 is dedicated to proving the worth of the individual with with the support and mentorship of school staff and community members. Facilitated by an artist-in-residence, also from the community, students work in teams, as partners or alone, determining the scope and content of their own creative projects. ROOM 13 artists also learn self-reliance by designing a business model that will sustain their own studio operation. TBWA\Chiat\Day advertising has also provided support of the ROOM 13 network through the contributed help of its creative professionals.

WHAT:          ROOM 13 JOINT EXHIBITION

WHERE:         THE JUDSON STUDIOS GALLERY

Judson Studio

200 So. Avenue 66

Los Angeles, CA 90042

WHEN:         SATURDAY, MARCH 13^TH , 6:00PM~9:00pm

Proceeds from the sale of artworks will benefit ROOM 13 studios.