"Collective Ambition" - The RBC Capital Markets Commissions by Creative Art Works

PUBLIC ART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUMMER 2017

FOUR WORKS ON CANVAS COMMISSIONED BY RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

FOUR PAINTINGS ON THE THEME OF COLLECTIVE AMBITION by Diverse Creators Unveiling Celebration Monday, August 7th, 11:30 AM Brookfield Place 230 Vesey Street New York, NY Greg Decker Teaching Artist Yael Tsoran, Teaching Artist Assistant

About the Paintings

RBC Capital Markets commissioned Creative Art Works’ Youth Apprentices to create a series of paintings based on the theme of “Collective Ambition.” The young artists chose to capture everyday moments that have universal appeal, including children playing hopscotch, commuters, and students in a classroom. Brookfield Place generously provided workspace for this project and the venue for the public unveiling.

FROM BRIAN RICKLIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR For many of us, a summer job was our introduction to the working world. It’s a fundamental rite of passage, and a big step towards adulthood. I believe young people who land a summer job with Creative Art Works’ Public Art Youth Employment program have truly lucked out, not because our jobs are easy, but because they are challenging in unique ways. Many of our Youth Apprentices have no previous art-making experience, so they have to venture outside their comfort zones and try things they didn’t know they could do. Because they are expected to deliver a beautiful finished product in just six weeks, and satisfy multiple stakeholders, our young people must learn to work as a team, to assert their identities, to compromise, to solve problems, and to advocate for their ideas. There is a healthy dose of pressure, as well as an enormous sense of accomplishment that comes from seeing their completed artwork and its impact. While it is possible to take away lessons from any work experience, I would argue that those jobs that involve the creative process offer some unique lessons. Aside from mastering the technical skills of painting or using professional cameras and video editing software, our Youth Apprentices must learn to deal with uncertainty. The idea that there are predetermined “correct” answers is supplanted by a constantly evolving cycle of judgment calls. In this environment, you must not only come to trust yourself, you must also trust your collaborators – to listen to them openly, embrace their different perspectives, and evaluate ideas solely on their own merits. In today’s rapidly changing world, perhaps the most important habit our young people could develop is the capacity and desire to become life-long learners. Today, we are excited to share with you youth-generated work, which we believe embodies that spirit.

Join the Conversation!

caw4kids

creativeartworks.nyc

@caw4kids

Ray Parker Arlene Ramnarain

Lala Charles-Williams

Denise Russell Christian Boyle Jahmel Edwards Veronica Fernandez

Chyna White

Cecilia Aponte David Sarpong

Teaching Artist Greg Decker Tashea LaBrew

Zari Washington Teaching Artist Assistant Yael Tsoran

Logan Clodd-Blount Logan is a fourteen-year-old young man. He has many interests and is open to exploring many things in his future. He hopes to attend either FIT or SVA after graduating high school. Logan believes that he will be successful in his pursuit of a degree in clothing design. His ultimate dream is to own his own clothing line and have it featured during New York City's fashion week. His past struggles with self image and body issues have pushed him to have an open mind and want all types of people to represent his future clothing lines.

Veronica Fernandez

Veronica is a twenty-year-old high school graduate from Spanish Harlem. She is one of only onehundred participants to have been given the Remarkable Achievement Award by the chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. She plans to attend community college in the fall to pursue her passion for social work and creative writing in prose. Veronica has created many connections with people over time, especially through CAW. She intends to use these connections while in college to learn how to create her own nonprofit organization. Her future goal is to start a nonprofit with her mentor that mentors youth and high school teachers in NYC.

Arlene Ramnarain Arlene is a twenty-three-year-old woman who lives in Queens. She is currently attending Queens Community College and plans on transferring to John Jay in the fall of 2017. Arlene will be pursuing a career in the criminal justice field after obtaining her degree. She will become a police officer and hopes to eventually rise through the ranks to become a detective. Over the years, Arlene has developed a passion for photography and hopes to share this passion with her daughter. Arlene has struggled with the obstacle of being a young parent, but has embraced the blessing of motherhood and fights every day to ensure the safety and happiness for her beautiful daughter Rose. Zari Washington Zari is a proud twenty-one-year-old who has overcome many obstacles in life. She is a Brooklyn native who wants to build her own graphic design company. She plans on staying in New York and building her company from the ground up while learning the tricks of the trade from other companies and employers. She will be known not by her name but by the unique logo she has already created, a capital "Z" that has loads of embellishments and accents all around it. Some of the obstacles Zari has overcome have been insecurities, multiple family deaths, and anxiety. Zari has not let these hurdles push her back; rather, she fights each day to achieve her dreams and make her family proud.

Christian Boyle Christian is a sixteen-year-old male who lives in Queens and aspires to be a software engineer. He intends on going to Stony Brook to pursue this career, and wants to graduate with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in software engineering and join a large tech company. In ten years, Christian wants a large house for himself and his family. He has struggled with poverty but is learning to manage money and take care of himself and his family. Christian has learned what he does, and does not, want in the workplace after working for CAW.

Ray Parker Ray is a twenty-one-year-old young man from the Bronx. He aspires to be a video game designer one day. He is intrigued by the ability to create a new world and explore it within video games. He plans on creating adventure platformer games or fighting games in the future. He has a strong admiration for the Sony Corporation, and hopes to work for them one day as a video game designer and consultant.

Cecilia Aponte Cecilia is a fifteen-year-old female who was born and raised in Spanish Harlem. She intends to go to medical school to become an OBGYN and graduate with an associate degree in nursing as well as a bachelor's degree in nursing. Cecilia is one of the most strong-willed and independent individuals there is. She has a very mature mindset for a girl her age. She also has a performing arts and creative side to her.

Shanice Williams Shanice is a twenty-four-year-old resident from the Bronx, NY. She hopes to travel the world and explore many different career fields. She is a college graduate who holds a degree in television/radio This degree opens Shanice up to an infinite amount of possibilities to pursue. Her goal is to attend NYU to earn a masters of education.

Tashanaja “Denise” Russell Tashanaja (aka "Denise") is a twentythree-year-old mother of two who aspires to obtain five different degrees, including a bachelor’s in agriculture, an MBA in International Business or business management and administration, a bachelor’s in veterinary medicine, a bachelor’s of fine art, and a bachelor’s in information security systems and computer programming. She plans on owning her own business and a few acres of land for agriculture. Denise hopes to travel the world with her children and learn new languages and traditions. She would like to help those in need to reach their fullest potential.

Tashea LaBrew Tashea is a nineteen-year-oldyoung woman with a passion for fashion, among other things. She is a Manhattan native who dreams of one day being a creative director and owning her own multi-billion-dollar magazine. She aspires to open the magazine industry to a more youthdriven platform that speaks to the culture, music, and lifestyle of urban youth. She has overcome many things in life, but she is most proud of her ceaseless drive. Tashea hopes to create her magazine before she is twenty-five-years old and will name it "the slizz.”

Jahmel Edwards Jahmel is a sixteen-year-old male from Harlem. He is still young, and has so far thought about either becoming a basketball player or a lawyer. Jahmel has an enticing personality and believes that his high self-esteem will help him towards being a public defender for people of color who are wrongfully accused and convicted in the judicial system. At the same time, Jahmel also believes he has the talent and passion to be a successful point guard in the NBA. He has struggled with many things, such as seeing the death of a family member, but he has used his struggles to persevere and stay light-hearted and driven.

Chyna White Chyna is an eighteen-year-old young woman who was born and raised in The Bronx. She currently attends Lehman College and plans to study accounting. Creative Art Works helped her explore her creative side and make new friends this summer while in the program. Chyna loves to learn new things, travel, hang out with friends and do math.

David Sarpong David is a young, talented youth who has the mindset of an adult, as well as a firm idea set for his future. He dreams of going to Syracuse University for law. He plans to pave the way towards this goal through research and determination. He is also a strong participant in many after-school extra-curricular programs. This is Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third public art program with Creative Art Works. He previously worked on the Dr. Lottie Taylor Library Mural at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School and three paintings for Whole Foods Market Harlem.

Teaching Artist Greg Decker Greg has been teaching and creating paintings, prints and drawings for thirty years. He attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and holds MFA’s from Cranbrook Academy of Art and New York Academy of Art. He spent eleven years working as a Visual Teaching Artist for Lincoln Center Institute, MoMA, and the Met, later moving to Nashville to teach oilpainting workshops, and to continue teaching in museums. After five years teaching in New Mexico, he returned to Nashville to begin a mobile homeschooling agency. An “adventurous figurative painter,” he is interested in symbolism and the influence of literature in visual arts. Watch Greg’s short video, “Sun Going Down” on YouTube. www.greg-decker.space

Teaching Artist Assistant Yael Tsoran Yael is a young artist from New York City who just received a master’s degree in art therapy from Pratt Institute. In her work, she incorporates process-oriented creative arts as a therapeutic tool to catalyze discussion, promote self-reflection and awareness, and support youth in progressing towards a more connected and integrated self. Yael’s dream is to create an art therapy traveling organization in order to build opportunities and bring the creative arts to communities worldwide. This is her second summer working with Creative Art Works.

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 premier. 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 31-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, community centers, parks, and libraries, CAW provides dynamic art-making experiences for youth who otherwise lack access. Our programs build confidence, unlock a love of learning, and teach valuable technical and developmental skills while creating profound connections between our young constituents, their art and their communities. Students are never charged for participation in our programs. www.creativeartworks.org Creative Art Works is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, EIN #13-3638436 Copyright © 2017 Creative Art Works. All rights reserved.

Creative Art Works hires Youth Apprentices directly and as a worksite manager with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development Summer Youth Employment Program. Programs are implemented in partnership with Catholic Charities of New York Alianza Division, Children’s Aid Society, Inwood Community Services, and Police Athletic League. CAW’s 2017 Public Art Youth Employment Program is made possible, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. Direct support is provided by Brookfield, Crowell & Moring Foundation, RBC Foundation USA, Sherwin Williams, State Street, Structure Tone, and by individual donors.

The paintings commisisoned by RBC are named: Passing Memory

Through Our Eyes

Diverse Creators

Living Ambition