“Arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.”
Materials for the Arts
Materials for the Arts is a non-profit organization that operates as part of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs. At their creative reuse center/warehouse, millions of pounds of materials are collected from institutions and companies throughout the city, which are then redistributed for free to nonprofit art programs and organizations, as well as NYC school and city agencies. As one of the volunteers there, I worked to help manage and carry out this creative redistribution and reuse, while simultaneously being exposed to various works and exhibits from professional artists that were in residence at that time. This experience allowed me to gain an inside perspective on the creative and physical process behind the production of professional artwork, which was a perfect complement to my work in IB Visual Art. Working for Materials for the Arts also taught me about the inner workings of large warehouses and organizations, and forced me to come up with creative approaches to the tasks that we were assigned as volunteers. I learned about the brainstorming process that goes into planning programs and events, and was also able to do my part to work directly with the staff there to help them with these endeavors.
Junior/Senior Council
While working as a member of the Junior and Senior Council over the last two years, I have been able to engage in multiple creative experiences that have helped to further our goals as group. Designing flyers for our planned events, helping to create large, artistic banners for our school dances, and brainstorming creative new ways to raise money for our senior expenses have been just some of the endeavors that I have worked on as a Council member. My CAS experiences as part of this group have forced me to think critically and creatively about what could be done to raise money for our cause, especially given the personal relevance that this cause had to me and the other Council members. Through this activity, I have gained brainstorming and management skills that have made me confident in approaching future projects, and improved my understanding regarding the necessity of creativity when it comes to planning events and increasing publicity.
The Invisible People of NY Documentary
We are creating a documentary showcasing the lives of New York’s impoverished population. This involves filming and interviewing both poverty stricken and homeless people, as well as people who have been those things in their past, and learning more about their day to day lives. In our documentary, we’d like to convey the various struggles that impoverished people encounter on a daily basis and hopefully spread awareness about the conditions that they are forced to endure. Through this experience, I have been able to learn and gain new insights about the status of homelessness in New York City, which has led me to consider and explore the various possible solutions for this massive issue. As a result of this CAS experience, I have gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the use of film, media, or any other kind of art to promote social issues. My efforts as part of this CAS group to work with homeless shelters and individuals while also capturing our experiences on camera has allowed to me realize the level of effort that goes into developing film and video, as well as the prowess behind this medium in terms of its ability to reach out and speak to others.
