In the Belly.

“In the end you birth an idea you’re really passionate about, something you’re very proud of. ”

— Mariah, 2020 ItB Grad

Apply for iTb’s #Classof2025

Nine months can change a life…Yours!

Nothing good comes quickly. Even you and I took nine months to develop in the belly of our mothers. We believe there are creative dreams inside you — visions that have been developing there for years.

In the Belly (iTb) is a 9 month creative incubator process for high school artists of all kinds.

Apply now for the Fort Wayne cohort!

Fort Wayne high school creatives, you are not on your own to figure out what to do with that creative bug you’ve got. In 2018, we launched a 9 month tuition-based program for high school artists during their senior year called In the Belly.

In the Belly helps high school creatives find their creative voice. It’s inside-out development. It’s sifting through and firming up the heart and mind’s interior before figuring out whether the creativity bug will turn into a career in the arts or simply participating in the arts as a part-time hobbyist.

iTb graduates walk away with life-changing and life-giving tools including articulating their creative voice, ideation, problem-solving, project management, collaboration, communication, creative thinking, adaptability, enhanced technical skills, developing a portfolio, writing an artist statement, self-assessing creative works, and presenting creative work in an art gallery. iTb grads also benefit from the iTb community of the previous 6 years of graduates. In addition, In the Belly’s programming helps students identify potential pathways and markets, partly through connecting iTb students with professional creatives (both locally and nationally).

iTb student attend weekly in-person meet-ups. The program launches in August 2024 and concludes in May 2025. The concluding finale of In the Belly is showcasing created works at “unfinished” - a creative showcase. iTb grads are also invited to showcase new work at “unfinished”.

In the Belly graduates represent a very wide variety of artistic mediums:

poetry
music
dance
photography
paint
digital art
claymation
videography
theatre

Space is limited, so apply by June 30, 2024. Tuition for joining In The Belly can either be paid in nine separate monthly installments from September 2024-May 2025 OR as one lump sum for a slightly discounted rate. Tuition payment plans are established on a one-by-one basis in person at our In the Belly Welcome Event in August 2024.

9 Months ⚡︎ 3 Trimesters

Fall - Rest Hard

We start at the end of summer and in our early months focus together on who we are and where our creative impulses come from. You will be amazed how much you already know! This trimester ends in October with the articulation of your project.
Winter - Play Hard

Once your creative idea is articulated we spend the winter months learning how to receive and curate inspiration. We learn to take in the moments of life together and enjoy the holiday season as our project ideas percolate and we prepare for the spring months.
Spring - Work Hard

With a basic knowledge of your unique style and why your creative voice matters, we head into the last trimester where we turn your creative idea into a public project. May’s finale launch event is called “un-finished,” held at The Garden, one of Fort Wayne’s premier emerging art galleries.

Sign Up Today!

Spaces are limited for the 2023-2024 School year.

2019 Group Headshot

What ItB Grads Are Saying

“…I definitely got a lot more confident with expressing and showing my art (before I would create something and hide it away, scared of judgement). I like to do things that bring me out of my comfort zone more now.”

— MORGAN, 21 Grad

“It’s SO worth it. You will learn a lot.”

— Jenna, 20 Grad

“If you don’t pursue those creative juices it will fester inside you and get really uncomfortable (and your life will suck ;-) Pursuing creativity in general has led me to the path I am on today (studying art for my future). Do it! …I learned how keeping that creativity inside is really bad for you…you don’t have to let your creativity go to waste.”

— KINZIE, 21 Grad

It’s comfortable. No judgement. A bunch of people trying to do the same thing. It’s open, it’s free.

— Liam, 19 Grad

“I’ve always been a person who struggled with anxiety…doing something with people that I knew loved me gave me a segway…[gave me] just one little step is going to give you that giant step.

— Emma, 19 Grad

“If you really want to pursue what you want to do and you want to show people what you do this is the place to start. .”

— Tumi, 20 Grad

“One of my biggest takeaways … was to KEEP GOING and PUSH THROUGH your ideas and don’t let other things get in your way, just stay true to the raw aura of where your creativeness is coming from … give faith to it, trust it and hold on to it. It helped me gain confidence in not only creative side but in the person I am in my whole being…”

— CATHERINE, 21 Grad

“It helped me a lot. Not even with just what I made but the process of it all. I knew myself better. I grew in relationship with all the people that were part of it.”

— Joey, 19 Grad

“Without creative things life is pretty boring. Doing art in general has helped me. I was able to gain more confidence in who I am and also in my work - sort of unheard in standard classes, it was great to get out of my comfort zone.

— JORDAN, 21 Grad