Art finds a way at Artful Dodgers

When empires fall their art remains. Making art and making music are steeped deep in the human spirit. Like water, no matter where it begins, art will find its way. That’s one of the reasons that Artful Dodgers Studios, a program of Jesuit Services, has opened its doors to hundreds of artists and musicians with multiple and complex needs. Art is an ideal way for young people to get on a path, to channel their creativity and give voice to things that matter to them. Some arrive with no previous arts or music experience and others are keen to pursue it as a career; wherever people sit is fine says Forest Keegel, an artist at the studio and facilitator of the Rudder mentoring program. Artful Dodgers is always a place for people who live in testing circumstances to come ‘to take a break from the issues in their life, meet other artists and talk art,’ she says.