In 1998 a Dorchester artist, parent and teacher of children’s small art classes in her home, got together with folks concerned about the absence of arts education in Dorchester, to form DCCVA or “Dot Art.” Ten years later it is soaring, with free or low-cost workshops, courses, and group civic art projects, in donated spaces, to hundreds of participants, reaching tens of thousands of people, with large-scale works of prominently displayed public art, often in collaboration with other institutions. In their Summer Teen Studio, 25-30 teens meet 30 hours a week for seven weeks, to study art history, drawing, painting, and sculpture, and create something together. The Dorchester Portraits Project has produced over 200 life-size portraits of themselves, their families and friends, that are on permanent display at the Dorchester Courthouse. With the New England Aquarium 49 youths studied, drew, and painted animals linking water and land, for a 40-foot-long mural as part of a three-year international traveling exhibit. With The Strand’s (Cat’97) Youth Theatre Project and the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Dot Art contributed painting, costume design, puppetry, set design and print materials for “Shakespeare is Alive and Well in Dorchester.” What they are doing is arts philanthropy—“ private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life”—and you can add yours to theirs.