A Prodigious Outpouring of Joy
Student in the in-school art program, PS 380
This spring, Creative Art Works students and Youth Apprentices at more than 20 partner schools produced a prodigious outpouring of joyful and thought-provoking art. The work is stunning in its variety, quality, and sheer quantity. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ve updated the art gallery page on our website, and we encourage you to take a few minutes to enjoy some of this work.
CAW offered Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) programs at eight primary and middle schools in three boroughs. Programs included mural-painting, set design, sculpture, Modern and Contemporary Art, Anatomy & Physiology Illustration, Art Around the World, and more. We offered ten in-school art-making programs at nine schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx, in a variety of themes and media. All together, we served more than 2,000 students through our in-school and out-of-school time programs this academic year.
Nearly 150 NYC high school students earned NYC minimum wage and developed real-world job skills through our creative workforce development programs. Youth Apprentices painted multiple murals that amplify school and community spirit. YA’s from the High School for Law and Public Service rebranded their College and Career Center, creating a new logo and marketing materials. One graduating senior and repeat CAW Youth Apprentice there even told us how proud she was of the film she worked on with us remotely last year, saying, “I’m pretty sure it’s what got me into college.”
Finally, this short video captures the fantastic professional-development opportunities for aspiring video game and cartoon creators in our Character Design Program. This program was offered as a Work-Based Learning opportunity at five NYC Career and Technical Education High Schools.
We hope you take a few minutes to sample some of this work. And if something inspires you, drop us a line and let our Marketing & Communications Manager know at scott@creativeartworks.org.
"Mi Pueblo" by Helen Caceres, Foundations program at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School. Click the image to see more art from this program.
Elephant mask from the "Lion King" set design program at Hamilton Grange Middle School. Click image to see more sets and props from this program.
A swimmer inspired by narrative paintings of Carmen Lomas Garza, PS 155 (detail). Click the image to see more art from this program.
Original character "Sir Winthrop" by Jacob Francisco, from the 2022 Character Design program at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology. Click the image to see a short video about this program.
These programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. CAW's Public Art Youth Employment programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. CAW's 2021-2022 in-school programs were made possible, in part, with the support of the West Harlem Development Corporation.
