Celling the Barnes

The famed art collection. The Youth Study Center. Why not combine the best of both worlds?

by Bruce Schimmel

The neighbors call it the "Kiddie Jail," and the 105 children of the Youth Study Center have been part of Fairmount for as long as anyone can remember. But soon the juvenile detention center is expected to be demolished for the new Barnes building. And the children will be moved to less tony districts from which they will commute for their day in court. Hold on. Before we let the wrecking ball fly, I'd first like to know why the kids can't stay. What's the matter with having the world's first combination Kiddie Jail and Art Academy? Seriously. Even old man Barnes would have been intrigued by an institution whose prime directive would be to offer the regenerative power of art to troubled children.

Consider the funding possibilities, now that dollars which once supported the arts are being used for pre-emptive wars abroad and at home. A new youth-art jail could reclaim a piece of that. Think of the exciting synergies as we proclaim justice with art for all.

OK. Stop smirking. I know the block between 20th and 21st and The Parkway is hot property with funders about to plunk down more than $100 million. And I understand that troubled teens and big tourism don't mix.

But after almost 15 years of bickering between the Barnes fundamentalists who wanted to stay in Merion and the big art-world funders who greased the skids to move, here's a solution that gives some satisfaction to both. The fundamentalists would get an academy that would follow Barnes' philosophy to educate the disadvantaged. And the high art cognoscenti would still get a fancy new museum and a ritzy spot for gala dinners.

Forgive me for thinking aloud, but it might be revenue-saving to visit the kids at their crib while attending those galas. And I'm sure the children would enjoy all those epicurean leftovers — a fine art of a gustatory sort.

So, what the hell, I made a call to Kimberly Camp, the Barnes executive director, with my immodest proposal.

"I love your creativity," said Camp. "It's a good try. But it's not possible. A collection of this age could only be ruined. We don't even let our staff eat in the same room" as the paintings.

Still, I explained to Camp that I wasn't suggesting that they hang Delacroix in the dorms. Just make room for a hundred beds. It would be like the sleepovers they have in other art museums, only a bit more intensive. Here is a chance to reach needy children, detainees who are not convicted of anything. And isn't the education of the underprivileged what Barnes wanted for his art collection?

Seeing I was somewhat serious, Camp recalled a newspaper cartoon of Dr. Alfred Barnes from the late 1920s. He is shown holding the hand of a small black child. The cartoon pillories Barnes for what were then radical educational ideas.

"Barnes was a pioneer in terms of social justice and racial equality," Camp said, "and we will continue the experiment to use art as a means to build democracy in education."

Still, no sleepovers, she insisted. "But I'd absolutely embrace a program that would have kids from any detention center to come to the Barnes for regular educational programs."

As for the kids from the Kiddie Jail, Camp said, "They can come back and visit any time they want."

Well, it's a start.

"I've launched a thousand business failures," is how I should have greeted the crowd of a couple hundred at Philadelphia's first sustainable business competition.

As former publisher of City Paper, I got very good at picking losers. But finding winners is another matter, which is why the folks of the New Profiteers Business Plan competition assembled at the Sheraton Rittenhouse in November. The winners were entrepreneurs who place as high a priority on social and environmental responsibility as they do on profitability.

The grand-prize winner was Kind Cuisine, which has a rock-solid business plan to market high-quality vegan and raw food through retail outlets. (I wrote about owner KC McQuillan's manic-organic plans in ["Returning the Kindness," Dec. 16, 2004].)

Some of other winning entrepreneurial plans — though less obviously earth- and people-friendly — are also worth knowing about, if only for their gee-whiz factor, and in case you'd like to invest.

Chameleon Optics invented Electrochromatic Window Film, a flexible plastic window covering which becomes darker or lighter as needed. It saves energy almost automatically.
Auction Inn from Lancaster put together a service to help individuals sell on eBay and which is partially staffed by teenagers from nonprofit kids' clubs.
From GDS Inc. in West Chester came a water disinfection system that uses bursts of UV light to zap bacteria. It's portable, which is especially needed during floods and other emergencies.

For more information on the New Profiteer Business Plan Competition, visit www.newprofiteer.org.