Creative Art Works 2021 Mural for Savills Midtown Headquarters by Creative Art Works

PUBLIC ART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUMMER 2021

“GOLDEN EXPERIENCE” AND “STAR PLATINUM” BY THE G.I. JIBS, THE MAJESTIC BUTTERFLIES, AND THE DA VINCIS 1

PUBLIC ART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUMMER 2021 GOLDEN EXPERIENCE STAR PLATINUM by The G.I. JIBS, The Majestic Butterflies, and The Da Vincis Unveiling Celebration Wednesday, August 11th, 2:30 PM Demetrius Felder, Teaching Artist Victoria DeJesus, Teaching Artist Assistant

FROM BRIAN RICKLIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR This year marked the return of in-person Public Art Youth Employment programs for Creative Art Works. It was a deliberate and thoughtful return – all of our staff have been vaccinated and masks were required on site – yet it felt good to create a sense of community after 15 months of social distancing. We put three teams of Youth Apprentices into the field this summer. Projects included an 122-foot exterior mural for The Crossing, a L+M / Invesco residential property in East Harlem; a series of large-scale paintings for a courtroom in Bronx Family Court, and two interior murals for the Midtown headquarters of Savills. We also offered remote employment to three teams of multimedia workforce programs. All of the artmaking and design were grounded in social justice issues. This year, we have recruited Youth Apprentices from all five boroughs who represent the cultural, ethnic, religious, and gender diversity of our city. They range in age from 16 to 24 and their interests run the gamut from engineering to musical theater. Most of them have no prior experience making art and, for many of them, this is their first summer job. The work is physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. Over the course of six weeks, our Youth Apprentices must come together as a team to overcome seemingly insurmountable creative and technical challenges. Internally, they must learn to navigate differing perspectives, negotiate conflicts and build group consensus. Externally, they must balance their client’s wishes while still maintaining their own voice and artistic integrity. And all of this is in addition to acquiring and developing new skills in a very short time. Our Youth Apprentices develop a sense of ownership as they create their art, and that sense is amplified, during the culminating event, when each individual has the chance to tell their audience what contributions they made to the project. Your presence at this event as a member of the CAW community is an essential element in the success of our shared mission. Thank you for attending today’s event. Sincerely,

Brian Ricklin

The Da Vincis Ishanti Espejo

Bryan Molina

Angely Perez

stic e j a M

Samauri McMillan

Jessica Plepi Adelyn Heagle Johnathan Hymen Teaching Artist Assistant Vickie DeJesus

Angel Cacer

B utterf l i e s Jeremy Galan

Soraide Badia

ras

. I. G e h T

Cecily Craig

BS I J

Rahdell Jenkins-Bennett Teaching Artist Demetrius Felder

Leo-Nico Bonaccio

Kit Souvorova

Executive Director Brian Ricklin

Adelyn Heagle Adelyn is from Manhattan. This was her first time with CAW and she hopes to gain loads of technical and interpersonal skills from this experience. She is 18 years old, has recently graduated The Clinton School for Writers and Artist and is now moving on to Suny Purchase as undecided. Adelyn loves the arts and in her free time sews her own clothes in an attempt to sustainably practice her love of style. For the past six years Adelyn has been a part of a pre med program for students in the heights, where she partook in many internships, including one at an affordable farmers market. Adelyn is unsure what the future holds for her but hopes that art can always be intertwined.

Angely Perez Angely Perez is a Domincan 17 year old High School Graduate. She attended the New Design High School where she learned a lot regarding the arts. This is Angely’s first job. She’s always been very friendly and wants to meet and learn from new people and experiences and she feels like CAW gave her the opportunity to let her best traits shine in a workplace. She aspires to work in social work due to the hardships she faced mentally and emotionally as a child. She chose to not let her mental health hold her back but to motivate her to find positive ways to cope, and would like to give back to youth in need. 6

Angel Caceres Angel recently graduated from Inwood Early College and is currently attending Lehman College to get a degree in Creative Writing. His past work experience includes building a hydroponics farm with Team for Food Justice. He loves watching youtube, walking his dog and playing video games. What he loves about video games is how it makes him feel part of the story. Angel’s goal is to be recognized for his talent and bright ideas, which is why he chose to be a film director as his career. Angel struggles with his confidence in group settings, so he hopes to find a community amongst his peers in this program.

Bryan Molina Bryan is currently studying accounting at Bronx Community College. He has been involved in many activities throughout his life, including basketball, baseball, football, and track and field. He always accepts opportunities so that he can learn new things and gain experience. Bryan never considered himself an artist, so at first he was unsure if he should even take the risk of joining the program; however, he is glad he did, because he ended up having a good time and learning a lot such as; how to draw and mix colors, and also how to listen and be patient. 7

Cecily Craig Cecily is a nineteen year old university student from Manhattan. After graduating from high school in Chelsea, she started attending the University of Pittsburgh. Before working with Creative Artworks, she gathered experience between attending an art-focused middle school and completing the higher level International Baccalaureate Visual Arts program in high school. She loves to play volleyball, and her favorite player is Yuji Nishida. She is inspired by Hayao Miyazaki and his works. This is her first time with Creative Artworks, and she feels she has already progressed substantially in her artmaking skills and is excited to work with CAW in the future.

Ishanti Espejo

Ishanti is 17 years old. She lives in “the Little Dominican Republic” in Upper Manhattan and is attending the High School of Arts & Technology. She has participated in activities such as basketball, debate, and coding where she acquired the skills of speech etiquette, teamwork, and innovative thinking. This skill set has allowed her to express herself freely as an artist. This is Ishanti’s first job and first time working with Creative Art Works. The mural program has encouraged her to break out of her box and get creative. She has learned to confidently showcase her work and be proud of what she has created.

Glenniyah Hickman Glenniyah is a 19 year old from the wonderful country of Jamaica. She currently lives in Harlem. She grew up in a single parent home where she faced many hardships. In order to distract herself, she participated in art programs and won 3rd place in her very first art competition. In high school, she joined the Track team, and was asked to design the new team uniforms. She also designed the t-shirt and hoodie for her graduating class, which won her the artist of the year award. Glenniyah plans to pursue art in college. She has enjoyed meeting new people in this program and she believe that working here has made be a better artist.

Jeremy Galan Jeremy is a seventeen-year-old from The Heights, and originally from the Dominican Republic. He loves sports and technology. He graduated at the top of his class with an Advanced Regents diploma with honors and many awards. He has led basketball teams to state championships. This is his first time working for Creative Art Works, and he hopes to improve his art skills. Jeremy will pursue a bachelors in psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University in the Fall. He plans to be a therapist because of the positive impact that therapists have had on his own life. Jeremy’s mission is to help people and make them smile.

Jessica Plepi Jessica recently graduated from Manhattan Village Academy and is on her way to Baruch College in the fall. Her parents gave her and her older brother the amazing opportunity of obtaining their education in America coming from Albania. Ever since, it has been her priority to take advantage of that opportunity and to try new things. This is her first CAW job and is a great way of being introduced to art in all its forms. In terms of her long term goals, she strives to become a corporate lawyer with a side hustle of real estate.

Kit Souvorova Kit is 18 years old and from Brooklyn. Working with Creative Art Works is Kit’s first job, and it has already taught her a lot about creating art and taking on leadership roles. Kit attended Mark Twain for the Gifted and Talented, where she specialized in art. She has also participated in multiple arts programs at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kit is inspired by the works of Rohan Kishibe and hopes to attain a similar skill.

Jonathan Hymen Jonathan is a graduate of Harlem Prep High School where he demonstrated skills in creative arts, and won an award for encompassing the meaning of Hispanic Heritage Month. He went on to display enthusiasm and initiative, and learned many new skills. He has always shown interest in illustration and animated media, and so entered CUNY to fulfill a dream of creating animated works that will inspire others. This is his first experience with CAW. He has enjoyed this opportunity to work with others and gain new experience while working on the creation of a mural.

Leo-Nico Bonaccio Leo-Nico is a nineteen-year-old college sophomore residing in Hell’s Kitchen. He has worked with Creative Art Works for three years in a row and aspires to be a character designer for Cartoon Network and/or Disney. Leo has attended The Clinton School for writers and artists in middle school and the Art and Design High school. He plans to finish his BFA in the next three years. In his free time, Leo draws and works on his animation skills using Adobe Animates. His greatest influence as an artist is Charlie Wen who is a digital artist for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 11

Rahdell Jenkins-Bennett Rahdell is from New York City. He grew up with six siblings and was raised by a strong single mother. As a child, he used to draw all the characters from Dragon Ball Z. and was interested in hip hop and R&B because that was all his mother would play on the radio. In middle school he would create comic strips. He also learned to play different cultural instruments, such as the bass guitar, piano and the djembe. In high school, he become interested in fashion and sneaker design, so he decided to create a clothing line which he brand R.O.D. (Ryde Or Die) . His goals are to work in the music and fashion industry one day.

Samauri L. McMillan This is Samauri’s first year working for Creative Art Works, and she has enjoyed her time in the program. Samurai has attended art classes all her life, starting with an afterschool painting class in grade school to multimedia/photoshop classes during her senior year at Equality Charter High School where she took art as her major. Now she’s working for CAW in order to gain communication, team building, and work experience. Samurai’s goal is to be a children’s psychologist, so that she can help children who have been through similar traumatic experiences as her.

Soraide Badia Soraide is 17 and a freshman at Lehman College where she is pursuing her dream job as a forensic scientist. This Creative Art Works program has taught her teamwork, leadership, and better communication skills, which will not only prepare her for college, but for any future job/internship she may have. This job brings out a lot of creative skills she never knew she had and opens her mind to more ideas. She grew up in the Heights and never had much exposure to art, so this job is something totally different and fun for her. 13

Demetrius Felder, Teaching Artist Demetrius has Been a Teaching Artist in New York City for five years. He has created over 28 murals throughout all Five Boroughs. He was the 2017 recipient of Groundswell’s Fall Artist Residency and has participated by invitation in the Snug Harbor Art Event two years in a row. He received classical art training at LaGuardia High School and received his AA in Computer Communication before being awarded full accreditation as a Multimedia Designer from The United States Army, where he served as a decorated Multimedia Illustrator for the 360th Psychological Operations Division. The one aspect of his job he enjoys most is observing the youth in his programs come together as a team and achieve a greater goal as a whole. Visit Demetrius Website www. Broadcastlevel.com and follow him on Instagram at @Broadcastlevel.

Vickie DeJesus, Teaching Artist Assistant Vickie, who creates art under the alias Lola Lovenotes, is a NYC based muralist and visual artist, as well as a freelance director and curator. She has painted murals for the Bushwick Collective, as well as the Emmy-nominated show Project Runway, and The Meadows Music and Arts Festival. Heavily influenced by the youth and the communities she grew up in, Lovenotes strives to inspire and connect to these communities by creating artworks that are charged with her emotional and spiritual vision of the world; while incorporating symbolism related to the themes of nature, heritage, social justice, and inclusion, usually involving feminine figures and fantastical scenery. She is passionate about using her platform as a muralist to shine light on important social issues. She teaches street art and graffiti workshops to youth in marginalized communities. After graduating from City College with a degree in Studio Art, she went on to join Escape Artists Collective as an art director and assistant curator.

This program was made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, as well as these generous supporters:

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 35-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 under-served 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

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