Youth Art Program Aims To Teach Kids Community Pride
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New artwork created by students at a Brooklyn school now graces the building where they learn – the result of a program that is all about expanding access to the arts for kids. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.Birds fly over the elevated F train while some others perch in the park in the murals painted by 2nd and 5th graders at P.S. 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
"It was awesome," said P.S. 15 student Mariah Charles of creating the mural. "It was great."
"It's fun to draw," added classmate Malik Padilla. "It's creative stuff."
P.S. 15, also known as the Patrick Daly School, is one of three Brooklyn schools currently benefiting from a $178,000 United States Department of Justice grant, which allowed the Brooklyn Arts Council to establish arts education workshops there. The 15-week program aims to prevent juvenile delinquency and violence in the communities surrounding these schools.
"Finding a way of getting to kids before they hit the criminal justice system, this program really reaches, gives us the opportunity to do that," explained Kathleen Christie of the Brooklyn Arts Council.
The school is an appropriate location for the program; it is named for former principal Patrick Daly, who was shot dead 17 years ago when he entered the nearby Red Hook Houses looking for a student. Daly got caught in the crossfire between feuding drug dealers.
The kids, who celebrated completing the mural on Friday, were led by two teaching artists, who guided them through the creative process.
"We did a lot of brainstorming and different drawing projects that let them think about ways to depict things that were important to them," explained teaching artist Tess Korobkin.
"What are the things that are really recognizable to people who live in Red Hook and also people who might be visiting the community," said fellow teaching artist Phoebe Zinman of the question she posed to students.
The kids say they learned a lot during the nearly four months of work.
"I learned how to work with others, and how to be creative, and to not ever let nobody put you down," said one student.
The students say they and others in the neighborhood are proud of the results of their efforts.
"It feels so good to see that our community is good and great and wonderful," said another.
The grant that covered this program will fund similar programs in three more schools in the area next year.