THIS IS
ME
Formerly known as “Just Like Me,” our Cultural Arts and Education Experience has been refreshed and relaunched as “This Is ME.” Same mission. Stronger voice!
This Is Me Cultural Arts and Educational Experience is a 3-week camp for 15 to 17-year-old teens. Created, hosted and run by The Performance Academy, in partnership with Family Support Services, talented artists lead the teens in an exploration of their experiences. The students learn to express themselves through the arts and share their stories with the community in a final performance.
This Is Me Cultural Arts and Education Experience was developed by TPA in 2011 and has been recognized as an Exemplary Program by the Center for the Study of Social Policy under their Youth Thrive initiative. This camp also received recognition from Mental Health of America as a featured program. This Is Me has transformed the lives of both foster children and our artistic instructors every summer for the past 10 years. 100% of our This Is Me Cultural Arts Experience attendees are in foster care and categorized as “high risk youth.”
The annual exhibition of talent for This Is Me is the culmination of TPA’s summer program and allows teens the opportunity to showcase the skills they’ve learned and present original work to peers, supporters, caregivers, and the Greater Jacksonville community. Most people will never headline a legendary stage such as The Florida Theatre in their lifetime — our teens get to do it before they become adults.
The Performance Academy utilizes creative and innovative partnerships as a primary tactic in making healing arts accessible to communities that suffer from limited access. Too often, the arts are treated as a privilege or reward as opposed to a preventative measure or educational enrichment. It is because of this harmful narrative that students attending alternative schools, drug rehabilitation programs, incarcerated youth, and students on house arrest are not provided artistic exposure. Our impact on the community we touch is a palpable and evident presence in our day-to-day experience.
15 years ago we began the partnership with FSS to provide a 3-week camp for 15–17-year-old teens in foster care. The mission of the camp is to give the teens a way to express themselves in a healthy and positive way.
2024’s Exhibition of Talent was held at Jacksonville University’s Theater.
Our Exhibitions are always free to the public.
We sing, we dance, we rap, we write lyrics and make music! We are talented young teens! Just give us a chance to prove it!
