Posts in Public Art Youth Employment Program
On the Job with CAW Youth Apprentice Cyrell Primo

"...our final proposal to the client was all of our ideas put together... We sorted. We found a way to put it all together, so now everyone’s satisfied with what they see."

CAW Summer Youth Apprentice Cyrell Primo shares her #SummerJobStories and touches on the intersection of music, art and ideas.

 

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Spring Awakenings

All art-making is an act of communication. The processes that surround exhibiting artwork — the development of artists’ statements, the receiving of feedback and recognition — are essential elements in supporting the development of a sense of agency: the belief that intentional, creative action can transform the world around us. 

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Working from Home

A CAW Youth Apprentice is making a difference in the world without leaving his block. 

Every morning, Tyrese Kierstedt walks out the front door of his apartment building, hangs a left, goes twenty feet and arrives at his summer job. Tyrese is one of several Youth Apprentices who are painting Creative Art Works' third mural for West Harlem Group Assistance, a community-based development corporation dedicated to revitalizing West and Central Harlem communities. The mural is located on the northwest corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, half a block north of Communities for Healthy Food at WHGA, a food pantry that promotes healthy lifestyles and provides related services to Harlem residents.

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Come See the Magic!

Our 2016 Public Art Youth Employment Program started on July 5th with an orientation at the Oberia D. Dempsey Multi-Service Center in Harlem. Over the course of six weeks, Youth Apprentices will be paid to participate in six mural projects and to contribute to two multi-media or graphics projects at six partner locations. Read on for details about each site. 

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Whole Foods Supports CAW on 5% Day

Buy Groceries, Support Creative Youth Development

On September 16th, Whole Foods will donate 5% of net sales from all Manhattan and Brooklyn Markets to three nonprofits that provide arts programming to New York City communities. Creative Art Works is honored to be one of those beneficiaries. 

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New Artwork Blossoms in Isham Park

“To be honest, I’m excited that my name will be on it and it’s in my neighborhood,” she said. “But it’s also great to know that we could build back from what happened a few years ago and create something beautiful.”

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Finding Your Voice

Most people who pass by our Public Art Youth Employment worksites are nothing short of supportive and encouraging, but on very rare occasions, you encounter a detractor. In this short video, Creative Art Works Youth Apprentice Sophia Ridley shares her story about finding her voice when confronted by an aggressive critic. 

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Shout out to the wall...

Each Public Youth Employment Program has a unique personality, depending on the participants, the client, the theme of the project and even the weather. Today we have two different perspectives about youth employment, one mature and reasoned, and one young and joyful. I hope you enjoy both of them. 

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Totem Poles, Cave Paintings and a Thunderous Reception

We have two stories for you this week. First, thunderstorms did not dampen the spirits of a dozen volunteers from CAW's long-time supporters JLL who visited two of our summer mural sites. Second, students in a CAW integrated art unit at the JCC's Math and Literacy Camp got to explore three ancient civilizations -- including exploring the caves of Lascaux with a torch!

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If You Paint It, They Will Come

Today the Multimedia Team joined the Youth Employees from Renaissance School of the Arts on a field trip to The Museum of the City of New York. CAW Teaching Artist Assistant Kito Kirtley said she wanted her students to be encouraged to make art of their own.

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Taking Root and Taking Flight in East Harlem

The CAW Youth Apprentices designing a Mural for Renaissance School of the Arts calls themselves, “Murally Minded.” During a client presentation on Monday, July 20th, “Murally Minded” presented their design to the Renaissance administration and teaching staff and leaders from the local community. CAW Executive Director Brian Ricklin and Program Director Anthony González were also in attendance.

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"When Words Don't Work, Paint Does."

Art is such an immediate way of communicating, because it bypasses language and gets to the essence of an idea. During the second week of the CAW Summer Public Art Youth Employment Program, our Youth Apprentices explored the power of symbols to tell a complex story.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Youth Apprentice

CAW returns to our roots in the heart of East Harlem. This neighborhood, also know as El Barrio, has a long tradition of expressing its vibrant culture through public art. Youth Apprentices will be painting a large-scale mural on the east-facing exterior wall of the Renaissance School of the Arts (RSA). But before they start on the wall, they will participate in a number exercises to sharpen their skills.

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Looking at the World from Both Sides of the Camera

The Creative Art Works Multimedia Team is in a unique position. These young people - along with their teaching artists - are charged with telling the authentic stories that emerge from our  Public Art Youth Employment Program and to observe and interpret what develops from the interplay of art-making, youth employment, and community engagement. But since the Multimedia team is a CAW employment program in its own right, these Youth Apprentices will be telling their own stories as well, through photography, video, reporting, and blogging. 

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