CAN Art & Design is a free after-school and summer art & design program to youth in the Washtenaw County, Michigan area. A subsidiary program of Community Action Network (CAN), we currently operate in five sites: Mitchell and Brick Elementary Schools, and Green Baxter Court, Hikone, and Bryant Community Centers.
We believe that after-school art & design can serve as catalysts for engaging young designers, thinkers, and leaders to create real work that makes a big difference in our community.
Why Art?
Respected studies that support the effectiveness of arts-infused education methodologies are listed below:
In-school arts education and academic achievement: A child fixed effects approach (2018)
Arts education positively predicted academic achievement and growth in reading and mathematics from kindergarten to 5th-grade.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10632913.2018.1423595
Arts Integration: A Promising Approach to Improving Early Learning (2016)
Research has found that arts integration has great potential for improving student learning in multiple disciplines.
https://www.air.org/resource/arts-integration-promising-approach-improving-early-learning
Dana Consortium study Learning, Arts and the Brain (2008)
Cognitive neuroscientists at seven major universities found strong links between arts education and cognitive development.
OUR TEAM
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Joan Binkow
FOUNDER
Derrick Miller
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Chris Seguin
CHAIR
Marsha Chamberlin
Matt Hilton
Kevin Karr
Louise Lutton
Quincy Northrup
Deb Polich
Mike Savitski
Annmarie Savitski



DIRECTOR OF CAN ART & DESIGN
Laura Amtower
EDUCATION SPECIALIST
Katie Williams
PROGRAM ASSISTANT