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The Alabama Blues Project  (ABP), based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has been called “a unique program that helps children find harmony and hope.” The ABP us a nonprofit group dedicated to educating the public about blues music and the vital role that Alabama Musicians from W.C. Handy to Dinah Washington have played in its evolution.

Once a week in the spring, the ABP runs an after-school program known as Blues Camp. The camp is also presented as an intensive weeklong session in the summer. Since its inception in 1995, the camp and other programs have reached more than 100,000 children. Seventy-two percent of the campers are considered at-risk because of poverty or special needs. For the majority of them, the chance to express themselves through music is an incredibly liberating way to deal with behavioral issues or horrific family environments. The ABP blues camp is a lifeline for the children whatever their background.

Miz Thang has been a guest artist at the Alabama Blues Camp for the past five years, leading children in art projects that honor Alabama blues greats. She always comes up with highly unusual projects that capture the kids’ imaginations and encourage them to express themselves creatively. For example, at Blues Camp, the group made cigar box guitars and shakarees out of gourds.

But in 2008 Mix Thang contributed much more to the Project than her time and artistic skills. She donated the Blues Door, which chronicles hundreds of blues greats from Alabama. The Blues Door includes a written and pictorial history of Alabama Blues.

Using extensive research Miz Thing crafted the door with cut outs made from cabinet grade birch.

The Blues Door is currently on display at the Alabama Blues Project and is seen below displayed at the Alabama Blues Project Blues Camp.

The children and teens at Blues Camp love Miz Thang and she loves helping them release their creativity.

Miz Thang is available to lead group art classes and projects for children and teen-agers.
Email her to set up an art program for your group.