The Akko Center for Arts and Technology (A-CAT) is an affiliated center of Manchester Bidwell Corporation (MBC), an American NGO offering art education and career training to at-risk youth and adults “in transition” – going through job changes or reentering the workplace after a break. In Acre the goal is even broader: to facilitate connections among the city’s diverse, and sometimes divided, population.
MBC was founded on the belief that art education can enrich and empower the disadvantaged. This was the personal experience of MBC President and CEO Bill Strickland, who grew up in a poor neighborhood of Pittsburgh. He describes himself as “disengaged” until his high-school art teacher introduced him to pottery and changed his life. Strickland was accepted to university on probation, became an airline pilot, opened a pottery studio for neighborhood kids while still a student, and proceeded to grow his original studio into nine centers around the US, serving thousands of teens and adults. A-CAT is the 10th center of its kind and the only time the model has been implemented outside America.
A-CAT opened in Acre in 2015 and offers courses and workshops in a range of art and technology subjects in a novel educational setting. More than 1,000 youths have participated in its programs: photography, 3D printing, short-film production, computerized warehouse management, professional makeup, and more. The center also serves as a social hub for community and cultural activities and a venue for conferences held by associations aligned with A-CAT’s values.