Queens County Family Court
Mural Unveiling
151-20 Jamaica Avenue
Queens, NY
Tuesday, August 13th, 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Abby Walsh, Teaching Artist
Colleen Kong-Savage, Teaching Artist
Micaela Jimenez, Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training
About the Project
The 2024 Queens County Family Court murals are comprised of three panels, each representing different scenes of unity and solidarity. The design of these murals is intended to provide a colorful escape from the stress that often comes with a visit to Family Court. One of the murals was designed as an amusing distraction for children who are invited to help animals on a train find their way back to the Queens Zoo through a tangled maze of tracks. The mural “After the Storm” also features a winding path that is a metaphor that trials and tribulations are often temporary, while “Helping Hands” depicts residents of Queens helping a woman out of a dark place into the light. As eloquently said by Youth Apprentice Tiarah Shard, “When people see our murals in the courthouse, I want them to feel a sense of hope. We wanted to give them a light...”
Check out this video created by the Youth Apprentices.
FROM KAREN JOLICOEUR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
This summer, at six different worksites, Creative Art Works is offering 115 young New Yorkers an extraordinary opportunity. Over the course of six demanding weeks, our Youth Apprentices are working together to create large-scale works of public art and short documentary films. While some come to us with artistic backgrounds, many do not. Either way, it is a challenge to learn—or hone—their creative skills while building a team, reaching consensus on design choices, and pitching their concepts to clients. The rigorous pace and high expectations invite YAs to rise to the occasion and foster significant personal development.
It is a joy to watch the evolution of their artwork, and even more so the transformation within the Youth Apprentices themselves. Through the mentorship of our talented teaching artists and management staff, they emerge as leaders, become confident presenters, and form meaningful connections as they collaborate with their peers. They also, by the end of the summer, enjoy a well-earned sense of accomplishment when their art is presented or premiered for the public.
Given the prevailing concern for young people in our post-pandemic world, it has been extremely moving to witness the level of deep engagement with, and support for, each other these young adults have demonstrated across all worksites. We work to “set the conditions,” but it’s up to the Youth Apprentices to bring the magic! Consistent themes captured in this year’s murals and films include leadership, change, transformation, and growth—a metaphor for the blossoming we are witnessing in them.
At Queens County Family Court, our trio of vibrant murals stands as a testament to unity and hope, designed to offer a comforting reprieve to all who enter. With each mural, we hope you feel the carefully crafted scenes imbued with the spirit of prosperity, connection, and their ability to transform the courthouse experience into one of positivity and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Karen Jolicoeur Executive Director
Alana Douglas is from Brooklyn and will be attending Ohio State University this fall. This is her first time working with CAW, but not her first time painting a mural. Her favorite thing about working with Creative Art Works was how inviting everyone was. The community in the courthouse was also surprisingly upbeat and inviting. A new skill she hopes to develop is thinking fast. She likes to spend time watching videos and talking about how she would remake them. She is good at using Canva and she is known for running her high school’s Instagram.
Zeinab Elidrissiy is originally from Sudan and living in Astoria-Ditmars. This is her first summer job as a CAW Youth Apprentice. She found her experience very fun, enjoying the positive atmosphere and the opportunity to learn new skills. These experiences have boosted her confidence and helped her forge new friendships, making her feel more connected to the team as a community. Zeinab is passionate about her art and helping people around her, spending much of her free time reading books and spending time with loved ones. She is known for her dedication and constantly seeking ways to make a positive impact on those around her.
Zeinab Elidrissiy
Alana Douglas
Yassin Essa, ethnically Egyptian, originally from Flushing Queens, goes to Queens School Of Inquiry. This is his first time working with CAW. It’s also his first time working on a multimedia project. The best thing about the summer job is the people and the connections he made. He has learned to be more comfortable drawing, particularly drawing out his ideas. Yassin is a 16 year old who spends his time going out, kickboxing, and playing video games such as Call of Duty. He also takes an interest in fashion and enjoys designing clothes; he wants to pursue a career in fashion.
Emely Hernandez, a firsttime CAW Youth Apprentice from Corona, Queens, is a rising sophomore at Boston University. Though she’s studying business, she’s always gravitated towards her creative side, being particularly fond of fashion and multimedia projects. She believes her experience with CAW this summer has not only helped her hone her creative skills but also showed her a side to her community that she had previously overlooked. She feels that she’s built great friendships and enjoyed getting to explore a different art medium.
Yassin Essa
Emely Hernandez
Nia Lland is a Jamaican American artist from Queens, New York. At the age of seven she started to garner interest in art and fashion. As she continues to progress with art, she began to develop more skills in high school. She took classes such as drawing, painting, graphics and fashion. Fashion was also a way for her to express her art on clothing. In June 2023, she graduated from John Bowne High School as a Visual Arts Institute student. Nia is now a Fine Arts Major at LaGuardia Community College. Her goal is to figure out where she wants to take her art career, whether it’s illustration, graphics or fashion. CAW has helped her experience working in the art field. She is developing skills such as communication, participation and teamwork.
Amanda Louie recently graduated from Stuyvesant High School and was born and raised in New York City. This is her first time working on a CAW project. She has previously worked in theater, designing and painting sets for school productions. She has had fun collaborating with everyone at CAW on this mural and activating new parts of her artist brain, as well as creating art that can bring positivity to communities. Outside of art, she can be found hanging out with her friends, solving problem sets in math team, and aspiring to be an animator.
Amanda Louie
Nia Lland
Ifra Mahmud lives in Flushing, Queens, and attends Stuyvesant High School. It is her first time working at CAW. Ifra has experience with watercolor and acrylic painting, among other types of art. Through this summer program, she stepped out of her comfort zone and socialized with others and made new friends. She’s also been able to tap into her creative side throughout the program. In her spare time, Ifra enjoys taking walks, exercising, working on her photography skills, and listening to Taylor Swift. She is known for her photography and she is a photo editor for her school’s yearbook club.
Sekera Mitthell is a Jamaican American artist from Queens, currently a junior at Pace University with previous experience in photography. This summer marks her first collaboration with CAW, where she has expanded her skills, particularly in drawing and painting. She appreciates the creative freedom her job offers and has developed skills in drawing, communication, and presentation. Working with CAW has allowed her to connect with like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of community. Sekera enjoys reading, watching movies and shows, photography, and singing. Passionate about music, she values its emotional power and how it brings her peace, deeply influencing her artistic expression.
Sekera Mitthell
Ifra Mahmud
Left to right: (top) Nia Lland, Mahan Nanandhan, Ifra Mahmud, Abby Walsh, (middle) Amanda Louie, Sekera Mitthell, Alana Douglas, Yassin Essa, Emely (bottom) Amanda Wong, Brandon Romero, Colleen Kong-Savage
Walsh, Micaela Jimenez, Tiarah Shard
Emely Hernandez, Zeinab Elidrissiy, Raul Ventura de la Rosa, Parris Smith,
Mahan Nanandhan is a rising junior at St. Francis Preparatory High School. He has grown up and continues to live in South Richmond Hill. He is a very driven person who believes in treating people with kindness and respect. This is his first job at CAW and his first job in general. He doesn’t have experience professionally creating art. He has really enjoyed the experience in creating artistic pieces and meeting new friends throughout it all. He has gained more confidence in himself and considers himself very lucky after working at this job.
Mahan Nanandhan
Brandon Romero grew up in Richmond Hill, Queens. He graduated from John Adams High School. This was his first time working with Creative Art Works, however it is not his first time working within the art field - he has experience originating from another nonprofit organization. He joined CAW to expand his horizons. He feels working with CAW has helped him get an updated perspective and refreshed his skills in art. Joining CAW has made him realize what it means to be part of something bigger: a community.
Brandon Romero
Raul Ventura de la Rosa is a Corona, Queens native as well as an incoming freshman at Borough Manhattan Community College. This is the first summer intern job where there’s not as much physical labor. It’s been an enjoyable experience. He enjoys sharing his creative ideas with people. He has gained a lot of confidence. Being more vocal could be part of it but not so confident with it, He always makes sure people around are safe and happy. He has an open mind and is careful about what he says. It’s important for him to always be calm and respectful. He is good at reaching out to people and enjoys making music and finds himself styling friends.
Tiarah Shard is a Queens native raised by her grandparents who are the foundation of her support team and motivate her to be the vibrant person she is. Tiarah aims to blend art and technology to go into UX/ UI or graphic/motion design. She has completed two tech training programs and, through her first time with Creative Art Works, is gaining professional art experience. Aside from bringing her creative mind to the CAW project this summer, Tiarah also brings her positive spirit. She enjoys being humorous and lighthearted with others but knows when to get to work.
Tiarah Shard
Raul Ventura de la Rosa
For Parris Smith, originating from Kingston, Jamaica and currently going to New York University, this is their first CAW job. Their artistic experience lies in literary work with youth communications and the making of short creative stories. They enjoy working on meaningful projects, especially those as rich as art. They’ve learned that painting involves more than just using a paintbrush; the prep is most crucial. This newfound confidence in artmaking and teamwork has helped them form relationships with diverse, and talented people. While jokingly referring to themselves as a professional lounger, baking has become a new love. Cherishing time with friends and family, they engage in conversations about racial issues and dream of assisting in humanitarian aid trips. They are “fake famous” for their two short stories published by Youth Communications and a piece in their schools literary magazine, The West 4th Street Review.
Amanda Wong, from Queens, is studying at the FIT for an illustration bachelor’s degree with hopes of pursuing an art career. She’s unique in being motivated to learn and adapt to different environments and is skilled at drawing and painting. In her first CAW job, she found a great opportunity to see what working in a professional art environment is like. An important new skill she learned while being in this program is socializing to understand different perspectives. This program boosted her confidence in being more expressive with others, and finding the importance of being open-minded and compassionate around others.
Parris Smith
Amanda Wong
Abby Walsh is a Teaching Artist living in New York City where she has been collaborating with students in all five boroughs since 2019. She began her teaching career leading the creation of large murals but since then, she has expanded her work with youth collaborators to include graphic novels, stop motion films, character and game design, and a wide variety of other art and experiential media. The voices of the young people Abby gets to witness and hold space for every day are the favorite part of her artistic journey to date.
Colleen Kong-Savage spent her childhood hopscotching across Asia and Africa before migrating back to the US for a BA at Smith College, an MFA at Columbia University, then never leaving NYC. Since 2021, she has guided students in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn through the mural-making process. This summer marks her second year with CAW. In addition to being a teaching artist, she is an illustrator for books and small businesses. Her favorite medium is mixed-media paper collage. This March she made her picture book author-illustrator debut with Piano Wants to Play (Page Street Kids). Currently she is creating images for another picture book, Fortune Cookies for All by Mia Wenjen, and a ground mural for Doyers Street for the fall.
Abby Walsh, Teaching Artist
Colleen Kong-Savage, Teaching Artist
Micaela Jimenez, Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training
Micaela Jimenez is an artist and student at Hunter College, where she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She has always been super passionate about numerous kinds of art, including digital and traditional illustration, painting, and collage. Micaela has volunteered to paint murals at her old high school, working with Groundswell on two community murals projects, one being created in 2022 and the other in 2023. She also interned with the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) at Al Oerter Recreation Center in Queens. Micaela enjoys using her art to connect with the community and express herself, hoping to learn more about others as well and herself.
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 38-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, recreation centers, foster care facilities, parks, juvenile justice settings, and in the remote environment, CAW provides dynamic creative youth development for those who otherwise lack access. Our programs build confidence, unlock a love of learning, and teach valuable technical and socialemotional skills while creating profound connections between our young constituents, their art and their communities. www.creativeartworks.org
After the Storm
Helping Hands
Creative Art Works’ Public Art Youth Employment programs receive support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, the Find Your Light Foundation, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, the Ponce de Leon Foundation, and the William Talbot Hillman Foundation. CAW also receives support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Creative Art Works
caw4kids