2015 Multimedia Team Culmination Brochure

PUBLIC ART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUMMER 2015

MULTIMEDIA TEAM AUDIO

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SOCIAL MEDIA

PUBLIC ART YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM SUMMER 2015 MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS by “The Mighty Morphin’ Multimedia Team” (M4T) Grand Culminating Event Thursday, August 13th, 5:30 PM Oberia D. Dempsey Multi-Service Center 127 W. 127th Street New York, NY 10027 Gabriel Lawrence, Teaching Artist Molly Yergens, Teaching Artist Assistant Anissa Hanley, Teaching Artist Assistant

About the Multimedia Team

The Mighty Morphin’ Multimedia Team - along with their Teaching Artist and Teaching Artist Assistants - were charged with telling the authentic stories that emerged from Creative Art Works Public Art Youth Employment Program. Their job was to observe and interpret what developed from the interplay of art-making, youth employment, and community engagement. Specifically, they visited work sites, attended design presentations and mural unveilings, all the while capturing photos and video and conducting interviews. Selections of their creative output were featured in CAW’s social media postings and on our blog, which you can find on our website, www.creativeartworks.org.

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FROM BRIAN RICKLIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO

Once a work of public art is completed, it very quickly becomes a part of its environment. It becomes hard to remember a time when the art didn’t exist.

But before there can be the finished work of art, there has to be a process of art-making. Usually, it’s a long process that involves a lot of people.

If you look at any Creative Art Works murals, you will see the names of the Teaching Artists, Teaching Artist Assistants and, crucially, the names of every Youth Apprentice that took part in the creation of that work. Those names are there to remind us what the art is really about -- it’s about the participants who created it. The Multimedia Team captures the excitement and challenges of taking part in these transformative experiences. Their public art takes the form of storytelling, through audio and video recordings, photography, and interviews, all shared through social media.

Notice that the word "youth" is in the middle of the phrase, Public Art Youth Employment Program. That is no accident. The art always serves the kids and never the other way around. After the paintbrushes are washed, the drop cloths rolled up and the AV equipment is locked away in the tech cabinet, the public art ceases to evolve; however, the young artists will continue to grow. Each and every one of them will take away something from the process that will serve them for the rest of his or her life. Maybe it’s the ability to be punctual or look people in the eye. Maybe it’s a trait such as self-confidence, tenacity, or maturity. But all of our Youth Apprentices will have grown, and they will all have stories to tell.

I would like to thank all of our young people for participating in the summer 2015 Public Art Youth Employment Program. I would also like to thank our Teaching Artists, Teaching Artist Assistants, our staff, our partners and our generous supporters for making this the best summer yet.

Join the Conversation!

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Molly Yergens, Teaching Artist Assistant Mikal Richards

Malik Manning Oscar Chavez Brenda Castillo

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Karen Zhang

Gabriel Lawrence, Teaching Artist Edgar Gonzรกlez Aaron Castillo

Paul E. Crespo, Jr. Daniel Ballard Susan Aghedo Anissa Hanley, Teaching Artist Assistant

Sandra Aghedo Sayuri Este 5

Aaron Castillo Aaron is a digital designer.

He likes to draw, animate, and turn basic two-dimensional images into three-dimensional images. He lives in the Bronx, but spends most of his time in Manhattan playing sports at various recreational centers.

Daniel Ballard Danny was born in Harlem. An artist from birth, he is very creative.

Danny has many talents, so it was very hard for him to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He decided to start a comic book, called E.L.E Force, that is based on the adventures of his friends.

Danny’s biggest inspirations are the TV shows he watches and the video games he plays. Kingdom Hearts is one of his favorite video games.

Steven Universe is his favorite cartoon, because it really reflects his persona. Danny still draws to this day with the hope that one day his comic makes it to the big screen.

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Brenda Castillo Brenda was born in Mexico and raised in New York. She will be graduating from Borough of Manhattan Community College next year. In her free time, Brenda also writes short stories depicting her life. This is her first time working in an art program. She says, “It has been an honor to be part of the Multimedia Team.”

Paul E. Crespo Jr. Born in New York City, Paul grew up playing video games. Paul’s interests include gaming, reading, watching sci-fi, sports, building PC’s and video entertainment. He plans to start streaming a podcast that showcases his sense of humor and love of video games. For Paul, art is just about being yourself and letting your nerd flag fly. This is Paul’s second summer with the Multimedia Team.

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Susan Aghedo Susan is currently studying advertising at New York City College of Technology. She is very interested in many things, including reading news articles, and watching the news on TV. This is Susan’s second summer with the Multimedia Team. She also teamed up with her twin sister Susan to videotape interviews of guests at CAW’s 2015 Annual Benefit.

Mikal Richards Mikal is a college student currently attending John Jay High School. He is a wrestler, power lifter, guitar player, music maker, card player, boxer, fitness trainer, anime watcher and video game competitor. He is a classic example of “a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.” He also loves to help others in any way he can. Mikal is naturally talkative, so if you’re ever in the mood for a long conversation, he’s your guy. Mikal loves finding common ground with others and using that commonality as a building block for a relationship.

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Sandra Aghedo Sandra Aghedo is twenty years old. She goes out into the world in search of a new experiences to enjoy. She spends most of her time playing video games, and solving problems. This is Sandra’s second summer with the Multimedia Team. She also teamed up with her twin sister Sandra to videotape interviews of guests at CAW’s 2015 Annual Benefit.

Edgar Gonzalez Edgar was born in New York City. Growing up, he was always interested in technology and how it functioned in our lives. He has experience in audio engineering, as well as graphic design, web design, programming, and video editing.

His hobbies include playing video games, basketball, baseball, soccer, judo, kick boxing and boxing. He graduated from the High School for Environmental Studies in 2008. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering at Brooklyn Polytechnic University.

This is Edgar’s third summer with the Multimedia Team.

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Sayuri Este Sayuri is from Brooklyn. She is one of seven children and has always worked to strengthen her individuality. She is an upcoming senior at Bloomfield College, where she studies nursing.

Capturing the moment is something that has always been appealing to her. Being a part of CAW’s Multimedia Team was a way for Sayuri to strengthen her social and technological skills, and create long-lasting memories.

Joshua Thomas Josh is 18. He attends the Urban Academy High School. His hobbies include going to church and taking photographs with his dad, but his greatest passion is dancing. Josh enjoys African dance, hip-hop and even ballet, but he likes freestyle dancing the most. His dream is to take his dancing to the next level and make it his career. If dancing doesn’t work out, his next choice would be to become a graphic artist or video game designer. Josh was surprised at how many members of his team have similar personalities.

They all love video games and anime. His greatest inspiration is his father and his grandmother, who always tell him to follow his dreams and never give up.

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Malik Manning Malik is from Harlem. He is proud to be African-American. He goes to a charter school called Broome Street Academy (BSA). His personal interests include basketball and video games. His plan for the future is to play in the NBA and play his best at all times, no matter what.

Oscar Chavez Oscar graduated from Urban Assembly Media High School in 2012. In his spare time, he likes to listen to music and watch movies and his favorite television shows.

Oscar is great at taking photos as he once was in a photography internship. He hopes to gain more experience from the Multimedia Team in editing film and wants to learn to Photoshop.

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Gabriel Lawrence, Teaching Artist Gabriel is a TV and stage actor, filmmaker and educator from Houston, Texas. He received his BFA at West Texas A&M and his MFA at the University of California, San Diego. He’s proud to have played classic roles such as Macbeth and produced film works for celebrities like Denzel Washington and Nelson Mandela. He believes artists are prophets, because of their ability to communicate powerful truths, create change and shape culture.

As an educator he tries to empower his students and assistants to think outside the box, teach back, and lead.

Molly Yergens, Teaching Artist Assistant Molly received her BFA in painting in 2004 from the Rhode Island School of Design. She completed her Master’s in Art Education at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2010 and in 2013 she completed her MFA in Visual Arts through Lesley University College of Art and Design in Boston. After nine years teaching art at a college preparatory school in Minnesota, Molly has recently relocated to Brooklyn and is happily exploring a new and very exciting place.

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Karen Zhang Karen lives in Brooklyn and plans to become a pharmacist. She learned to play the viola in high school. She loves to read, because it allows her to fall into someone else’s frame of mind and have an out-of-body experience, as if she could see things through an other’s eyes. Being on the CAW Multimedia Team made her realize that actively creating art is also an integral part of living and enjoying life.

Anissa Hanley, Teaching Artist Assistant Anissa Hanley is a game designer, photographer, videographer, animator, graphic artist, and sound producer, just to name a few of her many talents. She received her Bachelor’s degree from The School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons The New School. She loves horror and comedy and tries to find ways to combine the two in her work. She is an avid gamer who occasionally streams her games live on Twitch. She frequently contributes video game reviews and editorials on gamer culture to www.BlackNerdProblems.com.

Her dream is to work for Rockstar Games. She was born in Toronto, Canada.

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About the Public Art Youth Employment Program

The Creative Art Works Public Art Youth Employment Program gives teens and young adults 14-24 years of age full-time summer jobs and part-time jobs after school to create large-scale public art and multimedia projects. Our Youth Apprentices are guided by professional teaching artists and executive sta from the initial concept development through client presentation, to the final brush stroke and public unveiling. 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) improves the lives of thousands of NYC youth each year through in-school and out-of-school-time classes, community art-making events, and youth employment creating large-scale public art or multimedia projects.

Working in public schools, community centers, parks and libraries, CAW provides dynamic arts 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.

www.creativeartworks.org This program was made possible, in part, with funding from the Summer Youth Employment Program of the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and these generous supporters:

Fund of Tides Foundation

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“What I’ve learned in the Creative Art Works program is how to evaluate a photo based on contrast, symmetry, balance between foreground and background, and composition…”

Danny Ballard, CAW Multimedia Team Apprentice

520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 201A New York, NY 10018 646.424.0392 www.creativeartworks.org

Creative Art Works is a 501(c)(3), EIN #13-3638436 Copyright © 2015 Creative Art Works. All rights reserved.