At Art for Progress we take great pride in the work that we do, and we are so proud of the many accomplishments and countless success stories over the years. Our summer program over the past seven years has been one of our great achievements. We were fortunate to have a wonderful partner in the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. We appreciate their trust and unwavering support through some unprecedented challenging times. With their support, we had the opportunity to touch the lives of hundreds of NYC students looking to pursue careers in the arts, music and fashion.

As we celebrate our 20 year anniversary, it’s been a time for reflection and appreciation for all of the people who have been part of this amazing journey. They say it takes a village. Well, it certainly takes a lot of dedicated people willing to work hard to fulfill a mission. So, thank you to everyone who played a huge or small role in it. With our grant for the summer program coming to an end after 7 years, our 2024 program had a different feel to it. As we look back, we are grateful for the opportunity and will cherish the experience.

The Matisse Foundation empowered and challenged us to be bold in our approach. They told us the most important thing is to adapt and be creative in trying to achieve impactful programming. We really took that to heart and each year we made a sincere effort to achieve that goal. During the pandemic, they told us it’s alright to use the funds for general support. You don’t have to produce the program this year, but we understood that the kids really needed it. We created a program online and opened it up to anyone who wanted to attend. It’s quite possible it was one of the more impactful things we accomplished over our 20 year history. We provided a much needed platform for artists to share their stories, struggles and how they were coping with the challenges of the pandemic. As things opened up, our discussions shifted to our final two years, when we expanded the programming for younger students and a more focused program.

Over the last two years, we empowered our teachers/mentors to work with small groups of four to six students We created focused programs in visual arts, music, music production and fashion design. Some of the programs took place in the personal studios of our mentors. Students had the opportunity to experience what it’s like to step into a real working artist’s life. These experiences, and so many of the their experiences over these 7 years, will last a lifetime for many of our students.

Art for Progress (AFP) is set to launch its seventh annual summer program for NYC students in July. The program continues to evolve to address the needs of NYC’s young artists, musicians and designers attending public schools across NYC. 

Funded by The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, the program offers students interested in careers in the arts, and music, summer guidance and instruction. Over the 6-week program, select students will have the opportunity to work closely with professional artists across multiple genres including visual art, fashion design, music, and music production.

The program works with exceptional teachers with vast experience as both professional artists, teachers, and mentors. They bring the perfect balance of leadership and real-world knowledge that young artists desperately need in an increasingly competitive field. Please visit the links below for information on our teachers for 2024.

Visual Arts: Paula Walters Parker, Michael Alan, Fashion Design: Perryn Ford, Music Composition and Production: Ze’ Luis Oliveira, Music: Jerrell Battle

AFP is looking for those special students who are ready to take the next step in becoming a professional artist. We are creating a focused program based on mentorship and instruction, where a small group of students will work closely with professional artists who will guide them and prepare them for their next steps in their career development. Art for Progress is working closely with schools across NYC to identify students who will be a great fit for the program. Former students are also encouraged to apply.   

Beginning the week of July 8th, classes will meet one day per week for five hours a day. The primary program location will be in midtown Manhattan and will take place from 11:00AM – 4:00PM (lunch included).  “Join the Band” will take place on Sundays from 12:00PM-4:00PM at a midtown jazz studio.  Students are also encouraged to sign up for multiple classes. Check back often in the coming weeks for updates.

The Programs for 2024 include:

• Ableton Live: From Beats to Master: Bring your creativity and productions to the next level.
• Life Draw with Michael Alan Alien:  An advanced figurative drawing course with artist Michael Alan   
• Join the Band: Band Dynamics, Song Development & Performance- Singers, guitarists, bass players, drummers, keys. Do you have what it takes to join the band?
• Art & Design on My Mind with Paula Walters Parker: The five steps of the design thinking strategy and process (empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test). Create portfolio ready pieces for college admission!
• In the Studio with Ze’ Luis Oliveira: Composition, Recording and Production with Grammy nominated artist, Ze Luis Oliveira in his studio.
• Trendsetters Unite: Mastering Fashion Storytelling: Dive deep into the fashion scene- Get hands-on at garment factories, fabric stores, and fashion hubs while mastering visual merchandising and brand storytelling. Cap it off by crafting your own mini capsule collection presentation that screams your style!

LOCATIONS: Life Draw + Ableton Live: Tuesdays 11:00AM-4:00PM, Cre8tive NYC: 134 W 29th St Floor 2, New York, NY

Art & Design on My Mind + Trendsetters Unite: Thursdays 11:00AM-4:00PM, Cre8tive NYC: 134 W 29th St Floor 2, New York, NY

Join the Band: Sundays 12:00PM-4:00PM, New York Jazz Workshop: 265 W 37th St 10th floor suite 1004, New York, NY

In the Studio with Ze Luis: TBD 11:00AM-4:00PM, The Atelier Music Studio: 27-28 Thomson Ave Suite WS2, Long Island City, NY

You can apply here: APPLICATION

Contact admin@artforprogress.org with questions.

The 2023 summer program was full of highlights. The change of focus to a more mentor-based program was successful and meaningful, where ambitious projects led to outstanding results. Collaborative projects brought exceptional experiences for our budding artists, while our special guest artists played an important role for others.  At the Lorge School, Art for Progress purchased musical instruments that will bring a renewed music program this fall.  There’s one thing that remains clear and present in the work that we do.

Access to the arts, music, and creative outlets for young people could not be more important than it is right now.  Everyone at Art for progress is very proud of what’s been achieved over the last 6 years, and its bittersweet knowing that next year will be our last year.

We set out in May with an ambitious goal of finding students across NYC who could benefit the most from our summer program. We brought posters and flyers to art, music, and fashion schools in the boroughs, hoping to connect with students who were willing to spend some of their precious time off in the summer with us. With the help of many people at the schools, we got a nice response, and ultimately an amazing group of students.

The visual arts and music instruction program took place in midtown Manhattan, while the fashion design program was held at designer Gabriel Bullion’s studio in Brooklyn. AFP’s music production program was hosted by Ze Luis Oliveira at his studio in Queens.

One of the main objectives for the 6-week program was to work closely with the students to develop projects that would help them move forward in achieving their goals. Our mentors spent time with each student to learn how we could help support them in their artistic journey.  From the feedback we received from our students, we believe this approach was a success.

Some highlights include: a collaboration- students from the music program recorded guitar and bass in the studio (session musicians) on the music production student’s songs, students in the fashion program created their own brands and designed clothing using innovative printing and technology to complete their projects, the visual art students had the opportunity to work with artist Michael Alan on a special project, and we purchased musical instruments to help revive the music program at The Lorge School.

Overall, we had the opportunity to work with some students from the previous summer, and a new group of wonderful students who were excited and eager to learn. It was sad that our program ended for the summer, but we have a feeling we will see many of our students again next year.  

by Beláxis Buil

Edited by Global English

Art for Progress’ 2023 summer program kicked off on a different note.

This year’s program was designed to mentor young aspiring creatives interested in pursuing a profession in art, fashion design, music, or film. But what made 2023 so different and special was how the sessions were tailored to help each student achieve individual goals. (In contrast, in 2022 a series of art workshops were offered—such as ceramics, installation art, drawing and watercolor—providing the students with opportunities to explore each medium a bit more, or for the first time.)

So, in 2023, following the first day of orientation at the art department, we began with an introduction to gauge each student’s interest in the arts and how long they have been practicing. Before they began their introduction, I modeled an introduction to help students understand how professional artists customarily introduce themselves to institutions, art galleries, collectors and fellow peers through language and written artist statements. This exercise aimed to situate the student’s mindset into thinking about what is really motivating them to create work and how their work will fit into a broader social conversation. 

After the first half of the day, in which students focused deeply on their intentions and why they should think of their practice in terms of words, an array of visual artists such as Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley, Glexis Novoa, and Roy Lichenstein were exemplified to convey how each of these artists is driven to create work with meaning. Providing examples of artist statements and artworks to the students enabled them to better grasp, visually, the connection between the concept or context behind a work and how those ideas were translated through the use of material.

Over the first week, the visual art students were encouraged to list one to three goals that could be achieved within the six weeks of Art for Progress and implemented in their final portfolio project. Most of the students wanted to improve on their figure drawing techniques and scaling/sizing. Then, each student brainstormed the steps and routines that needed to be put in place to achieve their goals. Having the students determine their goals, consider the time-frame and solidify a routine showed the students their complete autonomy over the creative process and how to hold themselves accountable to produce the work they had committed to. An intensive schedule was created to keep each student on a routine that would allow them to practice drawing techniques and progress over the course of time.

Similarly in the fashion, music and film departments, the mentees worked on their crafts with their mentors.

For example, fashion designers Gabriel Padilla, Seven, and Will engaged the students in creating their own brand and fashion logos. Using current technology in the studio for research and development, the students were on a fast track to the creation of their first garment.

While, at the Atelier Studio, Ze Luis introduced students to his process of music/sound and how his compositions are influenced by ideas. The music/sound students incorporated Ze’s fundamental approach into their own creative processes and experimented to create their own compositions. Through this process, the students caught a glimpse of how professional producers and musicians work in real-time. 

And finally, in the music department, student’s focused on song structure while exploring various music genres such as jazz, rock and progressive music. Improvised-jam sessions were part of the weekly curriculum as well as discussions on band dynamics. A recording project is slowly developing where the music students will get to perform and collaborate with the music production students at the Atelier Studio.

Art for Progress (AFP) is set to launch its annual summer program for NYC public school students in July. Now in its sixth year, the program continues to evolve to address the needs of NYC’s young artists and musicians attending public schools across NYC.

The program, funded by The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, offers students interested in careers in the arts and music, summer guidance and instruction. For 2023, the program will shift to a mentorship focused program that offers select students the opportunity to work closely with professional artists across multiple genres including visual art, fashion design, music, and music production.

The long running program endured the challenging COVID years by creating an impactful online program that continued through 2021. In 2022, Art for Progress was very pleased to receive a three-year renewal for the funding of the program from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation in 2022. With much joy, we returned to normal, in-person programming last year. A focused group of students and our energized teachers made the 2022 program a big success.

Knowing the foundations approach and goals for the summer program, AFP’s Founder Frank Jackson set out to make the 2023 program the best one yet.  The message from the foundation has always been, what will you do to improve the program, and how will the program evolve over time to address the needs of NYC’s young artists. In 2022, AFP developed a pilot mentorship program, pairing 7-time Grammy award nominee, composer, arranger, producer, and multi- instrumentalist Ze’ Luis Oliveira with musician, producer, recording engineer Franklin Santiago. The program/experience left a lasting imprint on both artists.  Franklin Santiago said, “It was such an amazing experience that I will carry it with me for the rest of my life.” We are very pleased to have Ze’ Luis leading our program in music production, recording and engineering for this years program.

The teachers for the 2023 program are an exceptional group with vast experience as both professional artists, teachers and mentors. They bring the perfect balance of leadership and real world knowledge that young artists desperately need in an increasingly competitive field.

For 2023. AFP is looking for those special students who are ready to take the next step in becoming a professional artist. We are creating a focused program based on mentorship and instruction, where a small group of students will work closely with professional artists who will guide them and prepare them for their next steps in their career development. Art for Progress is looking to work closely with schools across NYC to identify students who will be a great fit for the program. They will also be reaching out to former students of the program who can apply.

The general structure of the program will be four hours a day, or possibly 6 hours a day. Two days per week. A total of 48 hours of programming over 4-6 weeks.  

You can apply here. Visit artforprogress.org for updated information.  Contact admin@artforprogress.org with questions.

APPLICATION: https://forms.gle/dZUmPMeNQXnECoZh7