“Lights, Camera, Action!”
 
Last Wednesday, Variety the Children’s Charity of New York, a long-standing Groundswell supporter, was on the scene at our Transform/Restore: Brownsville project site to interview representatives from our Youth Media Council for a special short video.
 
Sean Turner and Cody Levy of Groundswell’s Youth Media Council—a group made up of two youth from each Summer Leadership Institute project focused on developing documentation, communication, and media skills— used this opportunity to practice their public speaking skills in front of a professional film crew. They shared their first-hand insights about why art is important for them and their community and how Groundswell has informed and transformed their personal lives. Our Founder and Executive Director, Amy Sananman, was also featured discussing the power of socially-engaged art to help transform young people and their communities.
 
In partnership with the New York City Department of Probation and the Pitkin Avenue BID, Transform/Restore: Brownsville is engaging young adult probation clients, local businesses, and community members in the creation of visible and permanent change within the Brownsville community. As the third mural to be unveiled among a series of five, this project will highlight Brownsville’s hidden treasures and celebrate the unsung heroes of the neighborhood.
 
As a part of the research phase of the project, Lead Artist Misha Tyutyunik and Assistant Artist Justin Batten have been leading the 17 youth muralists on the Transform/Restore team in conversation about the embodiment of the spirit of Brownsville. These productive discussions focus on the re-definition of heroes in Brownsville and what “hidden treasures” mean to the youth artists. More inspiring conversations are to be generated after their planned visits to the Brooklyn Museum and Heritage House in the following weeks.
 
“Groundswell gives me a tool to express myself through art - just like you might choose to capture the house in front of us with a camera, I now know how to do it with my paint brush,” said Groundswell youth artist Davin Collins, “I now know how to be a part of the positive influence to make meaningful changes to my community. It is amazing to see how all of us are bonded through art, through Groundswell. We saw random people walking by, telling us what inspiring work we have done. I suddenly realized there are other ways to express my concern to my community than negative emotions.”
 
To these youth, and all of us in the Groundswell community, art is an invaluable form of expression, a tool for visible social change, and a vehicle that gels the community together.
 
For more information on the Transform/Restore: Brownsville project, please refer to the latest press release.