MINNEAPOLIS — There's a creative space that open in Minneapolis that aims to continue to grow the music industry in the Twin Cities, especially for youth who think they'd be more interested in the behind-the-scenes work.
Timothy Wilson is part owner of Urban World Management, an entertainment company based in the Twin Cities.
"Some people are creatives, so this is an opportunity for the creatives to come out get involved," Wilson said.
That is, get involved in classes at Powderhorn Recreation Center in South Minneapolis. The classes launched earlier this month.
Urban World Management is helping to get students to understand how the music industry all comes together. The classes will guide students through writing, recording, producing music, and video.
"The behind-the-scenes people make great livings," Wilson said. "The behind-the-scenes people are very important to what you do on T.V., what happens on radio, what happens on the set of a movie, behind the orchestra in the recording studio," Wilson said.
There are a couple of classes being offered Monday through Thursday for those from 5th to 12th grade. The classes are lead with instructors who have a lot of experience. The classes are free.
"People who have produced records, have had records out themselves, engineered sound for a major recording artist, have done things on that level," Wilson said.
The instructors are compensated by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Tyrize Cox is the Assistant Superintendent for Recreation. She said they recently unboxed state-of-the-art equipment at the Powderhorn space. Taking classes like this with professional grade equipment might cost you a pretty penny, but again, these classes are free.
"Kids get to participate and get to have the same quality experience as kids who are paying for a similar programs and so I think this can be somewhat of an equalizer," Cox said.
Cox said they were looking to serve youth who don’t find themselves interested in sports or other typical activities under the board's umbrella.
"We want to reach the kids who say, 'That’s not my thing, but this could be,' and so I think this is another way of us saying, 'We hear you community, we hear you young people and we want to make space for you,'" Cox said. She said these students might just find these classes are a path to a career.
Cox said this is the first creation space the board has launched. Three more are said to be coming around the city.
If you're interested in enrolling in the Powderhorn Recreation Center Creation Space, there is still room available but there are limitations due to COVID-19. If you want more information, check out the board's website here.