Metro Roundup: Studio By The Tracks strives to remain connected to its students despite COVID-19

Established in 1989, Studio By The Tracks in Irondale is a nonprofit that provides adult artists with autism spectrum disorders the space, materials and instruction they need to make and sell their work.

The artists receive a 60% commission of all art sales from the organization’s gallery, online store and fundraising events.

“Our primary goal is to enhance the quality of lives of our students and to provide an avenue for self-confidence and social interaction through art,” Suzanne Boozer, SBTT executive director, told Village Living. “Our goal for the adult students is to bridge the gap between our artists and the outside world from which they are most often isolated.”

The organization works “to develop and polish the artistic and life skills of these artists,” Boozer said.

The Studio also serves about 25 children diagnosed with severe emotional disturbances with a weekly art curriculum unique to the organization, said Boozer.

Best of all, The Studio provides its services free of charge.

However, like many businesses and nonprofits, The Studio was forced to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by closing the facility to its students and the public beginning March 18.

Fortunately, The Studio was able to use the internet, including teleconferencing, to continue to engage with and support its students.

The staff “developed a successful and meaningful ‘wire around,’” said Mike Battle, an SBTT board member.

Recently, The Studio welcomed students back to the Irondale facility for some outdoors classes.

The Studio will also host a holiday open house on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring art made by students, along with jewelry, pottery and handmade cards from other makers.

“We don’t have as much art because the students have not been coming in, so we will also have some merchants selling their art,” Boozer said.

After closing in mid-March, The Studio was able to start a Zoom program for children in about two weeks, Boozer said. The facility began hosting Zoom meetings for adults in July.

The Studio normally serves about 50 adults each week in its building, which is located in an old Pure Oil gas station.

During the pandemic, “the situation has been more difficult to manage” with The Studio’s adult artists, Boozer said.

“Since all of our adult artists are considered to be at high risk for COVID — most of them have several other underlying health conditions — we have exercised extreme caution regarding in-person meetings,” she said.

Staff members and volunteers “still greatly miss the personal time with our students and the ability to see in person their interaction with others, smiles, laughs and expressions of self-confidence and their development of self-esteem,” Battle said.

However, the online program has been successful, and staff did other workarounds, as well.

“We made individual packets of art supplies for each adult artist to continue doing their artwork from home,” Boozer said.

“For several months, we had one-on-one Zoom calls for all of the adults who wanted to participate in online classes,” said Boozer.

“We used technology to keep everyone in the loop and informed them about Zoom meeting times, events and commission payments,” she said. “We also send source images to our artists for inspiration.”

The staff has also seen some unexpected good things through their use of technology.

This summer, The Studio had to convert its annual Art From The Heart benefit from a live party with an average of about 400 attendees to a virtual auction.

It’s “always a huge event” held at a downtown events space, and staffers were anxious about making the switch to a virtual event, Boozer said.

“We were like, ‘This is going to be hard,’” she said. “It was because we never did it before, but now we feel so great that we can sell art online, and not just once a year but we can do it that routinely.”

The Studio has continued to offer online shows and sales periodically.

In addition, learning about Zoom and using it with students has given The Studio a way to serve even more students in the future with online-only classes, even after the end of the pandemic.

“It’s really exciting,” Boozer said.

The Studio has continued to serve the children in the residential treatment program at Glenwood near Cahaba Heights.

The Studio has provided all of the supplies needed for each class and generally makes a delivery to Glenwood once a week to get them their supplies, Boozer said.

In mid-September, The Studio brought the children in for an outdoor class. “They really loved being back,” Boozer said.

When The Studio brought its adult artists back for outdoor classes, it reduced class sizes from eight or 10 students down to four, she said.

“We have a little covered area, and we brought out tables,” Boozer said. “Everyone sat at a different table, so we are socially distancing.”

“They are happy to be back and they are enjoying it,” he said.

The efforts taken by The Studio to keep its programs going during the pandemic have a deep importance to its students, particularly the adults, Boozer said.

”It’s kind of huge,” she said.

Many of the adult students “just thrive on routine and continuity,” Boozer said. “That is what keeps them feeling safe and secure.

When the students are able to attend in person, they all have their regular seats.

“They will never take another seat,” she said. “They always sit by the same people. Without that, it really affects their well-being.”

Some of The Studio’s students have attended classes there for 30 years, she said.

“This is what they do two days a week,” Boozer said. “We are trying to be something continuous in their lives.”

Online classes have been important in maintaining this sense of continuity for students and “providing them positive artistic experience,” she said.

“Our students struggle more than most with isolation and lack of contact with others, and technology has played a major role in helping us stay connected,” Boozer said.

The effort to support and encourage these adult artists — to nurture what the SBTT values statement calls their “entrepreneurial spirit” — has a positive impact beyond the walls of The Studio.

“Many of our artists have become quite accomplished and are known and collected,” Boozer said.

She cited Linda Cooper, Michael Hall and Ines Orihuela as a few of the SBBT artists who have shown their work at galleries and at the Birmingham Museum of Art.

“Our overall belief at Studio By The Tracks is that our students and their art add great value to the Birmingham community,” Boozer said.

Studio By The Tracks is located at 301 20th St. S. in Irondale. For more information about the open house, call 205-951-3317 or go to studiobythetracks.org.