There is a buzz in the air at PS 368, The William Lynch School, in West Harlem, where the main hallway has been transformed into a student art gallery. Students, teachers, parents, and friends have gathered to admire the dizzying outpouring of creative talent from a Creative Art Works artmaking program. The work ranges from paper collage, to blackout poetry, to colorful clay sculptures. A CAW gallery walk is such an exciting event, because it is a distillation of months of collaboration and process. Let’s look back at how this magical moment came to be.
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At Creative Art Works, we believe in celebrating artists who break boundaries, challenge norms, and inspire the next generation of creators. Women artists have long been overlooked or disregarded in art history, yet their contributions have shaped and redefined artistic movements. In honor of Women’s History Month, our team is highlighting some of the women artists who inspire us.
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Art has the power to give voice to the unspoken, to bridge divides, and to foster empathy. This truth was encapsulated in the form of a mask crafted by a young artist in a CAW Art Lab integrated into the Honors Anatomy & Physiology class at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School.
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Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday marks the end of Carnival. Carnival celebrations are famous around the world for masked revelers and spirited festivities. So, we thought that this Fat Tuesday would be a great time to celebrate some of our young artists who created fanciful and fun masks as part of an after-school mixed-media program at PS 278 in Upper Manhattan. In many cultures, masks allow people to transform into fantastical versions of themselves, honor cultural symbols, or simply embrace the joy of the festivities. CAW Teaching Artist Emma Smoluchowski asked students what do masks say about who we are or how we want to be seen?
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A CAW integrated art and literacy program at P.S. 192 in Harlem harnesses the energy of K–1 students to build a fantastic city. Along the way, students learn lifelong skills like teamwork and collaboration.
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“Students have been enjoying the storytime aspect of class and love to chime in with great observations as I read. When it comes to making art, they all seem to really love creating and are so focused during the time we have. Hands-on activities are always a source of joy for them.”
— CAW Teaching Artist and children’s book author Maham Khwaja
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“What you guys did this summer was inspirational, and I think inspiration is sometimes lost in this society. Our students will walk by this mural every day and be inspired. And you inspired us, the teachers and administrators, as well. I must tell you how valuable and how important that is to our school community.”
— Principal Charles Reilly, P.S. 368 / The William Lynch School
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“I hope that everyone who sees these murals feel that I am trying to give back to the community. That the people who worked on these murals are people who are just like them, trying to make every day better than the last.”
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“I hope that everyone who sees these murals feel that I am trying to give back to the community. That the people who worked on these murals are people who are just like them, trying to make every day better than the last.”
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“Inwood has changed all throughout its existence. I feel like it is a very nuanced conversation to have, because on the one hand, you do see the good of it. There are nicer amenities being built, like the new library. You have a lot of chain businesses coming into the area and all that is poised to spur economic growth. On the other hand, is this economic growth going to necessarily mean that the culture is going to change? Is what makes Inwood unique going to go away within the next ten years?” — CAW Youth Apprentice Omar Martinez.
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“I hope that everyone who sees these murals feel that I am trying to give back to the community. That the people who worked on these murals are people who are just like them, trying to make every day better than the last.”
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“What I found the most interesting was being so close to people like CEOs and being able to interview them and asking them questions. You got to see where they work and hear stories from the people you wouldn’t get to speak with on just any typical day, which is really cool.”
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We’ve often said that working for Creative Art Works is the best summer job in NYC, and it turns out that a lot of young New Yorkers agree. Of the 115 Youth Apprentices who joined Creative Art Works for our Public Art Youth Employment program this summer, 15 have worked with us at least once before and several of them have worked with us 2 to 5 times! We collected some of their thoughts on why they keep coming back.
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Creative Art Works offered an integrated art-making program in visual narrative at The William Lynch School in Washington Heights. Students in grades three through five built vocabularies, boosted confidence, and learned the elements of storytelling by sculpting their own unique characters.
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Throughout this spring, Creative Art Works Teaching Artists have been engaging young people and their families and friends in robust and event-specific artmaking activities with a number of community partners. While these drop-in activities are fun and require no prior art-making experience, all projects are designed around rigorous lesson plans that align with the goals of the larger community event.
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“The shape of our world is changing. Kids are growing up online and there's something missing in their communication skills. So, our Foundations projects focus on building the skills that students need to be able to engage with each other functionally.”
— CAW Teaching Artist Abby Walsh
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“They had such a strong sense of community, that once one student understood the assignment, they would step up and be the first ones translating and demonstrating the instructions to others.”
— CAW Teaching Artist Joey Jiménez
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“The most successful artmaking involves an element of discovery and play. With art, we actively explore materials – how they work, what kind of vision can we create with them, even the mess we make can be a learning experience. All these small engagements anchor us and teach us how to observe each other and the world we live in.”
— CAW Teaching Artist Colleen Kong-Savage
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