Why the CASA Initiative Matters
Why the CASA Initiative Matters

On April 29, 2019, Deputy Director Karen Jolicoeur was delighted to represent Creative Art Works at an oversight hearing of the New York City's City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations. The subject at hand was the Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) Initiative, which brings high-quality arts partnerships to New York City public schools, particularly in underserved communities. As Karen makes clear in her brief statement, there are many ancillary benefits to CASA programs.

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after-school, animation, Art Around the World, cartooning, integrated, middle school, literacy-based, mixed media, out-of-school time, Programming, public speakingKaren JolicoeurCreative Art Workscaw4kids, creativeartworks, CASA, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC City Council, artsed, arted, art education, arts, Bronx, Manhattan, public policy, West Harlem, Inwood, Jimmy Van Bramen, Ydanis Rodriguez, Ritchie Torres, Cultural After-School Adventures
Make Prints with Foam Plates
Make Prints with Foam Plates

As part of our work with schools, we often invite parents to enter more deeply into the learning environment through Family Engagement workshops. These weekend and evening events allow parents to explore art-making firsthand – to experience the curiosity, creativity, and even joy inherent in the process, and to witness it in their children. We can't send a CAW Teaching Artist to your home to lead a Family Engagement workshop, but we can do the next best thing. This week’s blog includes instructions for a simplified printmaking project that you can do at home with your kids. If you enjoy this project, please share your art with us!

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after-school, empowerment, integrated, middle school, Multimedia, OST, out-of-school time, ProgrammingScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications Managercreative art worksart education, active learning, Art, engagement, family, curriculum, Community, caw, caw4kids, DIY, empowerment, Family, printmaking, prints, mistakes, mixed media, n, art, nyc
Make Your Own Kinetic Sculpture Inspired by Alexander Calder
Make Your Own Kinetic Sculpture Inspired by Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder is probably best known as the inventor of the “mobile,” a type of kinetic sculpture carefully balanced so it can move freely. Calder’s sculptures can be seen all over the world, but the reason we chose him for inspiration for a stay-at-home project is because he often made art out of things he found around the house or on the street, such as wire, yarn, fabric, recycled cans, and scraps of metal or wood. He often worked with very simple tools or no tools at all. In fact, he made many sculptures out of nothing but some wire using just his hands.

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middle school, Out-of-school-time, ProgrammingScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerCreative Art Worksart education, Art, Calder, Mobile, kintetic, DIY, Family, mobile, middle school, integrated learning, kids, science, nyc, mixed media, energy, youth development
Developing Character(s)
Developing Character(s)

“Kids at this age are perfectly ready to create stories. Characters spill from their brains. These characters might be the product of an active imagination, or a response to something they read in books or saw on TV, or they may possibly be a way of processing their own personal development.”

— CAW Teaching Artist Ayla Rexroth on student-created cartoon characters in the Cartoon and Anatomy program at Hamilton Grange Middle School.

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after-school, cartooning, cartoons, middle school, out-of-school time, Programming, public speaking, self-portraitDaniel Bergman, Program DirectorHamilton Grange Middle Schoolart education, arts, design, drawing, East Harlem, Harlem, Hamilton Grange, middle school, MS45, self-portrait, cartooning, cartoons, painting
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.

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after-school, middle school, out-of-school time, mixed mediaGuest UserPSMS 278, The Paula Hedbavny Schoolmiddle school, books, digital, design, art, arts, artsed, arts education, active learning, Ydanis Rodriguez, CASA, doe, DOCA, NYC, NYC City Council, NYC Council, NYCDYCD, creativeartworks, creative youth development, creative art works, caw4kids, Inwood, psms 278, Manhattan, mixed media, photoshop, computer, school, Cultural After-School Adventures, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Doing the Right Thing
Doing the Right Thing

Going back to school to earn your high school diploma can be a struggle; so can wrestling with complex issues of social justice. In a CAW integrated art class at Innovations Diploma Plus High School in Manhattan, students are challenged to do both.

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in-school, integrated, literacy-based, Multimedia, public speaking, high schoolScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerInnoavations Plus Diploma High Schoolart education, Art, curriculum, social justice, empathy, family, Language Arts, literacy, integrated learning, in-school, NYC, public speaking, publicspeaking, t, x, youth development
Breathing Life into Imaginary Worlds
Breathing Life into Imaginary Worlds

Creating a short animated video is a whole lot of fun. It’s also a whole lot of work. Bringing a few seconds of animated video to life requires hours of planning, patience, and persistence. In this Creative Art Works’ after-school program, students learned the many skills needed to bring their creative vision to life.

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after-school, middle school, Multimedia, OST, out-of-school time, animationScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerMS 254creativeartworks, middle school, Art, art, artsed, art education, animation, claymation, figures, stop-motion, Bronx, curriculum, film, hon_ritchie_torres, Ritchie Torres, kids, NYC, nycdca, MS254, 6th grade, video, youth development
Shout Out to Our Students
Shout Out to Our Students

Sometimes, good things come in threes. This past November, several Creative Art Works students and Youth Apprentices earned recognition from local, national and international organizations. We are beyond proud of our young people and we would like to share their accomplishments with you.

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empowerment, in-school, integrated, Multimedia, Mural, OST, out-of-school time, Out-of-school-time, Public Art Youth Employment Program, Summer Programs, SYEPKaren Jolicoeurart education, active learning, apprenticeship, mur, artsed, multimedia, film, documentary, CBO's, makeadifference, Community, nyc parks, NYC City Council, nyc, harlem, Jacob Schiff Park, brandeis school campus
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.

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in-school, literacy-basedKaren JolicoeurHamilton Grange Middle Schoolart education, active learning, Art, artsed, arted, Mark Levine, drawing, dycd, nyc dca, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, caw, creativeartworks, creative art works, Greek Gods, galebrewer, hgms, Hamilton Grange, hamilton heights, DYCD, education, inferences, Washington Heights, Jacob Schiff School Campus, literacy, Lightning Theif, Manhattan, reading, integrated learning, archetypes, middle school, myths, ancient greece, red-figure pottery, curriculum, literature-based, ELA, Language Arts
What Does Your Self-Portrait Say About You?
What Does Your Self-Portrait Say About You?

Creative Art Works is offering an after-school art-making program for second-grade students at PS 192 in Hamilton Heights. We sat in on a class on making self-portraits that engaged a very energetic group of young artists on many levels. Not only did students this literacy-based program have an opportunity to make art, they also developed public speaking, problem-solving, fine motor and observation skills.

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Art Around the World, integrated, literacy-based, OST, out-of-school time, Out-of-school-time, primary education, ProgrammingDaniel Bergman, Program DirectorPS 192art education, art ed, art, primary, primary education, hamilton heights, harlem, doe, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, second-grade, ps192, PS 192, Jacob Schiff School Campus, Cultural After-School Adventures, CASA, Mark Levine, NY City CouncilComment
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.



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empowerment, Mural, OST, out-of-school time, Out-of-school-time, Public Art Youth Employme, Public Art Youth Employment ProgramDaniel Bergman, Program DirectorQueensbridge 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. 

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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 ManagerCreative 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.

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empowerment, integrated, Mural, Public Art Youth Employment Program, public speaking, Summer Programs, Summer Youth Employment P, SYEP, Public Art Youth EmploymeScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerJacob 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.”

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empowerment, integrated, Mural, Summer Programs, Summer Youth Employment P, SYEPScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerWinter Garden at Brookfield Placeartsed, art education, art, active learning, art ed, apprenticeship, aprrenticeship, brookfieldplace, RBC, creativeartworks, creatourfuture, creative youth development, Inwood Community Services, cbre, Department of Youth and Community Development, drawing, education, empowerment, self-portrait, gensler, integrated learning, jll, summerjobs, summerjobstories, NYC, NYC Council, youth development, public art youth employment program, RBC Capital Markets, SYEP, pulbicartyouthemployment, painting, structuretone, sherwin-williams, summer, Public art employment, creative art works, wintergarden, youth employment
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.”

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empowerment, integrated, Mural, Public Art Youth Employment Program, public speaking, Summer Programs, Summer Youth Employment P, SYEPScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerBronx Family Courtartsed, apprenticeship, art, art ed, Bronx, creative art works, education, empowerment, Family, girl power, integrated learning, summerjobs, mural, public art youth employment program, syep, structuretone, sherwin-williams, Vanessa Gibson, NYC Council, creatourfuture, caw4kidsComment
Rising to the Top
Rising to the Top

The 18 Youth Apprentices who designed this mural wanted to offer a message of hope and unity to the young people of the South Bronx, and to inspire them to pursue their passions and make healthy life choices. This message informs the symbolism of the mural. As a storm clears behind them, two PAL kids, supported by lily pads, work together to unlock the magic of their potential futures. The water illy symbolizes resilience and strength, as it gestates in the mud and rises to the top of the pond to bloom as a beautiful flower.

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empowerment, Mural, Public Art Youth Employment Program, Restorative Justice, Summer Programs, SYEP, Summer Youth Employment PScott Lucas, Marketing & Communications ManagerPAL New South Bronx CenterArt, art education, apprenticeship, active learning, artsed, Bronx, caw, caw4kids, education, empowerment, summerjobs, summerjobstories, mural, NYC City Council, nyc, nycda, creatourfuture, creativeartworks, creative youth development Comment