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Don't Be Afraid to Start Something

Don't Be Afraid to Start Something

“I think that a lot of people are scared to start. I know a lot of people here were scared to start painting, because they were afraid to mess up the mural, because this was a project for the people. But I think it's okay to try new things. And it's okay to just let yourself have fun while working. You always want to make sure that you're doing a good job, but you can still have fun and not stress yourself out so much. I feel like you should do something that you actually care about, because you get more out of it, just emotionally and mentally and physically. You enjoy it more.”

Scott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerAugust 24, 2021The CrossingLMRelationships, LMStrongerCommunities, LMDevelopmentPartners, youth apprentice, youth voice, youth employment, youth development, creative art works, creative youth development, CAWorks4NYC, creativeartworks, summerjobs2021

Work!

Creative Art Work’s Remote Digital Public Art Youth Employment Program was the first remote job for all of our Youth Apprentices, and what a job it was! In addition to learning serious skills for the digital workplace, they grappled with challenging topics and crafted compelling messages about social justice issues, including racial and gender equality, animal rights, domestic abuse, child labor, climate change, family separation, mental hygiene and drug addiction, and the rising cost of health care. The quantity and quality of the work produced is staggering.

The Trifecta

The Trifecta

According to a study by the Wallace Foundation, middle school students say they want three things from an art program: they want to learn real skills from real teaching artists in a real art space. Last fall, Creative Art Works hit the trifecta at two after-school programs in The Bronx. Students at MS 45 created their own comic book characters in the Cartooning and Anatomy class, while students at IS 254 explored a variety of techniques in a formal drawing class. Both these semester-long programs were taught by CAW Teaching Artists and offered a deep dive into a single subject.

Seeing the Big Picture

Seeing the Big Picture

“I like the way I’m growing as a person. I never used to listen to anybody. I never wanted to do what I was supposed to do, but now I understand as you get older, a whole lot of things change. You’ve got to move different.”

– CAW Youth Apprentice Deysean Nesbit

One Big Family

"Most of us took this job in order to make money, but something else came out of it – we also helped our families, we contributed to the Bronx Renaissance. I learned that when a community comes together and we work hard, we can get something done, and the whole community will be improved by it, they will enjoy it, and they will respect it."

– CAW Youth Apprentice Gabriel Bono

An Oasis in the Heart of The City

An Oasis in the Heart of The City

Oasis, Creative Art Works' new mural at 601 Lexington Avenue, has been an extraordinary experience in many ways. For most of the Youth Apprentices who contributed to the design and execution of this mural, this was their first work experience and, for many of them, it was their first time making art of any sort. Yet they succeeded beautifully. The ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity of these young people is a reflection of, and a testament to, the creative dynamism that makes New York the greatest city in the world. Our Youth Apprentices flourished as individuals and succeeded as a team because of the unique attributes and different perspectives they brought to the table.

A Thread Connects Them

A Thread Connects Them

“Design is design, whether you are cutting and pasting with paper and scissors or 'cutting and pasting' on a computer. Kids who have a chance to do both make those connections.”

— CAW Teaching Artist Brandi Martin Yu on the common thread between CAW’s Book Arts and Digital Arts after-school programs at PSMS 278 in Manhattan.

Good News: You’ve Got Awesome Powers!*

Good News: You’ve Got Awesome Powers!*

Students at Hamilton Grange Middle School are studying Greek Myths in their English Language Arts class. While Greek gods had awesome powers they also had human flaws. To better understand how fictional characters can have complex personalities, these same students will be creating their own versions of gods with a mixtures of powers and flaws in a CAW integrated painting and drawing class.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Many Hands Make Light Work

CAW Youth Apprentices from Queensbridge Houses and Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement came together one Saturday to beautify "Baby" Park in Queensbridge. An outpouring of community support created a memorable day and a mural that will last for many years.

empowerment, Mural, OST, out-of-school time, Out-of-school-time, Public Art Youth Employme, Public Art Youth Employment ProgramDaniel Bergman, Program DirectorSeptember 19, 2018Queensbridge Baby Parkapprenticeship, apprentice, active learning, artsed, art, Queens, Long Island City, Long Island City Partnership, Queensbridge Houses, Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement, Baby Park, Handball, Jimmy Van Bramen, New York CIty, NYC City Council, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYCHA, mural, Department of Youth and Community Development, education, empowerment, Family, Community, 12th congressional district, Carolyn B. Maloney, park, caw, caw4kids, creative art works, creative youth development, creativeartworks, creatourfuture, nyc, n, youth development, youth employment, public art youth employment program, Public art employment, structuretone, sherwin-williams

Short Films, Worthy Subjects

Short Films, Worthy Subjects

The most important connections in our lives are the ones closest to home. This summer, our Multimedia Team created five short films about nonprofits and other organizations that work to improve the quality of life in our city. The subjects include pianos in public places, a grass-roots effort to make improvements to a local city park, an ambitious plan to create murals in Upper Manhattan of 314 North American birds threatened by climate change, and a program that brings soccer and poetry to young NYC residents. Of course, there is also a documentary about Creative Art Works summer Public Art Youth Employment program.

cartooning, empowerment, integrated, Multimedia, Mural, Public Art Youth Employme, Public Art Youth Employment Program, public speaking, Summer Programs, Summer Youth Employment P, SYEPScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerSeptember 6, 2018Creative Art Worksaprrenticeship, art, active learning, art education, animation, apprentice, apprenticeship, Department of Youth and Community Development, education, empowerment, galebrewer, Harlem, Hamilton Grange, HGMS, Inwood, Inwood Community Services, integrated learning, Bill_Perkins, Jacob Schiff School Campus, Jacob Schiff Park, Mark Levine, park, PAYEP, PAL, SYEP, summerjobs, summerjobstories, summer, creativeartworks, caw, caw4kids, creatourfuture, public art youth employment program, Public art employment, youth employment, story, structuretone, sherwin-williams, Washington Heights, Audubon, multimedia, mural, film, video, student photography, story-telling, Vanessa Gibson, vimeo, w, New York CIty, NYC, NYCDYCD, poetry, creative art works, youth development, Ydanis Rodriguez

So Much More

So Much More

“Migrations” is part of the The Audubon Mural Project, a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler &_____ Gallery to create murals of North American birds around Washington Heights, where John James Audubon lived during the last years of his life. The project’s goal is to commission artists to paint murals of 314 species of birds which are threatened by a warming climate.

empowerment, integrated, Mural, Public Art Youth Employment Program, public speaking, Summer Programs, Summer Youth Employment P, SYEP, Public Art Youth EmploymeScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerSeptember 5, 2018Jacob Schiff School Campusartsed, art education, aprrenticeship, active learning, art, art ed, creativeartworks, caw4kids, Catholic Charities, creative art works, education, HGMS, ps192, Hamilton Grange, integrated learning, summerjobs, creatourfuture, creative youth development, Mark Levine, Jacob Schiff Park, Jacob Schiff School Campus, West Harlem, Harlem, mural, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC City Council, nyc, New York CIty, youth employment, pulbicartyouthemployment, SYEP, PAYEP, public art youth employment program, Art, summerjobstories, story-telling, sherwin-williams, structuretone, Washington Heights, youth development, childrensaidsociety

Summer of Love at The Winter Garden

Summer of Love at The Winter Garden

“Corporate art can be very boring, because there’s a perceived expectation of what corporations want, which can be interpreted as sterile or somber. So, don't give us what you think we want. Don't give us stock photos. Be real. Be bold. Be honest. Challenge our expectations.”

We Are Family

We Are Family

“The family that I’ve created outside of my blood
Molded me into the person I want to be
And the greater idea is that my life has just begun
And my train ride ain’t over yet.”

Six Reasons to be optimistic

Six Reasons to be optimistic

“How can you NOT be optimistic about the future when you spend your days working with young people?” This summer, we’re going to try to bottle the experiences of our Youth Apprentices the way you might catch a firefly in a mayonnaise jar. Between now and the middle of August, we will be posting regular "lightning interviews" on our social media and in our newsletters. Read on for a six flashes of inspiration.

An immense capacity to demonstrate caring

An immense capacity to demonstrate caring

Kids at ACS Children’s Center are experiencing extraordinary circumstances at a young age, yet they remain resilient and they persevere. They are generally kind and loving to each other and adults. They have open hearts. These are also really smart. They are curious and eager to share their knowledge & interests. And their desire to create is palpable. Children seem to find their way into the art room.

Lines of Communication

Lines of Communication

In the internet age, when social media platforms allow young people to instantly broadcast their thoughts and opinions to the world with a just a few taps on their smart phone, face-to-face conversations can seem quaint, if not downright low-tech. Yet impromptu speaking is a skill that both kids and adults use every day in school, with friends and family, and on the job. In January, students in CAW after-school art workshops had a chance to talk about their art to friends, family, teachers and administrative staff in RL (real-life) at culmination events.

A Time and Space to Be a Kid

A Time and Space to Be a Kid

This fall, Creative Art Works is offering some of New York City’s most vulnerable youth an opportunity to connect with themselves and their community, develop their own voice and, simply enjoy a healthy and creative experience. CAW is providing two after-school art programs to young children and teens living in the Children’s Center, a transitional residence run by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) for young people who are awaiting foster care placement.

Meshack Merills Brings Down the House

Meshack Merills Brings Down the House

"...Our mural began and we finished the plan,
And I just want to say how proud that I am.
I’m blessed for my God, blessed for my people,
Blessed to be up here rather down there with evil.
Blessed to be on the mural that’s mentioned,
The mural that brings out attention,
The mural that we have invented,
This is our Ascension!"

empowerment, Mural, Public Art Youth Employment Program, public speaking, Summer Programs, SYEPScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerSeptember 6, 2017PAL Harlem Centeryouth employment, youth development, creative youth development, public art youth employment program, public speaking, Public art employment, Art, art ed, aprrenticeship, apprentice, art education, PAL, Harlem, West Harlem, caw4kids, Community, caw, creativeartworks, education, Inwood Community Services, Catholic Charities, structuretone, State Street, sherwin-williams, NYC, NYCDYCD, NYC City Council, NYCDCA, crowell&MoringFoundation, childrensaidsociety, nycdca, self-portrait, Department of Youth and Community Development, DYCD, summerjobstories, kids, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mark Levine, mural, SYEP, creative art works, poetry, publicspeaking, summer, ascension