A wonderful art-auction event took place last week at Joseph Gross Gallery in Chelsea benefiting Young New Yorkers, a non-profit organization that provides arts-based programming to court-involved young people. Within minutes of opening the gallery was packed with art lovers, collectors and those supporting this stellar and important organization. A huge group of top artists with a variety of mediums donated work to raise funds, see the giant list on the event flyer at the bottom of the blog and on Paddle 8 for info.
First, what is Young New Yorkers? Think restorative justice where teens have the opportunity to choose art over jail. Executed by Rachel Barnard, Executive Director and Co-Founder, she and Founding Member, Curator and Teaching Assistant, Lunar New Year (LNY), explain that the criminal court gives eligible defendants whom are ages 16- and 17-year-olds and who in New York are tried as adults—the option to participate in Young New Yorkers rather than do jail time, community service, and have a lifelong criminal record.
With the main goal of empowering students to transform the criminal justice system through YNY’s programs culminate with a public exhibition where members of the Criminal Justice System are invited to re-meet the graduates as creative and empowered individuals. In most cases, as they complete the program successfully, their records and cases are sealed, thus far, 100% of participants have graduated from Young New Yorkers’s programs. The programs is based around again, restorative justice giving participants a way of exploring the impact of their choices and empowering them to make much wiser choices in the future. Mediums in which students participate are photography, video, painting, collage and illustration.
For more information visit: http://www.youngnewyorkers.org.
Flyer for the event listing the tons of participating artists and sponsors....
For more information on this wonderful organization visit: http://www.youngnewyorkers.org
