ARTS JUSTICE

Equal access to the arts

ARTS Justice sends free art kits to kids impacted by COVID-19 restrictions

3L Sophie Sylla with some of the art kits distributed to schoolchildren through ARTS Justice. By Yulia Nakagome As COVID-19 forced schools to transition to online learning and access to resources became a challenge, third-year law student Sophie Sylla and recent graduate Erika Ingram were concerned that the arts, often a low priority in tight school budgets, would be left behind.

Sylla, an artist and former Fulbright scholar, and Ingram, whose career interest is public interest law, teamed up on ARTS Justice, a project distributing free arts kits with a social justice focus. Sylla’s experience with arts justice work as a legal intern at the ACLU of Southern California inspired the project.

This summer, ARTS Justice received a Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund Rapid Response Fulbright grant for Fulbright alumni doing work in response to COVID-19. The $10,000 grant facilitated creation and distribution of 500 kits to Los Angeles-area schools and agencies in vulnerable communities. ARTS Justice is working on raising another $10,000 toward 500 additional kits.

“I’m an artist, I come from a family of artists, and I’ve been lucky enough to have the arts in my life,” Sylla says. “I’ve met youth who were the most talented artists — I could barely teach them because they were far, far more talented than I am. They just lack opportunity. That’s a problem that can be fixed.”

Ingram’s background includes working in Gould’s Post-Conviction Justice Project and as a legal intern at the Children’s Law Center of California in Monterey Park, Calif. She met Sylla in the USC Black Law Students Association and Public Interest Law Foundation, and when Sylla mentioned ARTS Justice, Ingram was eager to get involved.

“Once I found out this summer that [Sophie] was working on this project, it was a natural yes,” Ingram says. “I wanted to help her in any way and support this project and the mission.”

The art kits, inspired by the movie Black Panther, include a movie poster, a comic strip and an action figure. Kids are encouraged to create a superhero version of themselves. The workbook guide features Sylla’s example: Lady Liberty, attorney by day, freedom fighter at night.

Laura Goldin, an art teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District, called ARTS Justice “a great resource to learn about equality.”

“It’s important for Black and Brown students to feel empowered and know they have a voice,” Goldin says. “Art is a form of non-verbal therapy, and with everything going on with COVID, it’s great that students have access to art supplies as an outlet to express themselves.”