Every person you pass on the street has a story you may never hear. “Colors of the Creek: An Inwood Story” explores these personal narratives as well as the connection between humankind and nature. One of the goals of this project was to help people to discover Inwoodʼs Sherman Creek Park through the accounts of those who know it best.

This summer, Creative Art Works youth apprentices (YAs) will be creating environmental portraits and stories of local residents, highlighting their relationship to Sherman Creek Park and the surrounding neighborhood. Through documentary photography and community storytelling, YAs will produce a public exhibition of large-scale portraits installed along the park’s perimeter, inviting both longtime residents and new visitors to experience Sherman Creek through the voices and faces of its community.

The photography is also being featured at Inwood Art Works Studio at 112 Seaman Avenue in Inwood from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, through August 14.

Everyone has a vivid and complex life, and many people have a deep connection to nature and the many parks that are part of the Inwood neighborhood. The photographs and interviews in this love letter to Upper Manhattan reflect the sense of unity between the Inwood community and the natural spaces that bring people together.

The Portraits

Behind the Scenes

About the Public Art Youth Employment Program
Public Art Youth Employment Programs give teens and young adults full-time summer jobs and part-time jobs after school to create large-scale public art and multimedia projects. Youth Apprentices are guided by professional teaching artists from the initial concept development through client presentation, to the final edit and public unveiling or premiere. Along the way, they gain tangible employment and life skills such as leadership, teamwork, responsibility and the power of taking initiative. They are empowered by the enduring accomplishment in their work of art and its positive impact on the community.

About Creative Art Works
Creative Art Works (CAW) is a 39-year-old nonprofit that empowers young people through the visual and multimedia arts. Our programs equip children, teens, and young adults with essential tools and skills; connect them with community, academic success, and career opportunities; and inspire them to reach for new possibilities. Working in underserved neighborhoods of New York City, in public schools, recreation centers, foster care facilities, parks, juvenile justice settings, and in the remote environment, CAW provides dynamic creative youth development for those who otherwise lack access. Our programs build confidence, unlock a love of learning, and teach valuable technical and social-emotional skills while creating profound connections between our young constituents, their art and their communities

Our Thanks
Creative Art Works’ Public Art Youth Employment program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The program also receives support from the AEO Better World Foundation, the Find Your Light Foundation, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Pinkerton Foundation, and the William Talbot Hillman Foundation. Creative Art Works’ 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. The Sherman Creek photo essay program was made possible by a generous grant from Charities Aid Foundation Canada.

Additional funding was provided by: The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and by numerous corporate and individual sponsors and donors.