Dear Friends,
As we strive to engage youth around the world to do good in their community through the arts, we invited a youth group from Iraq, participants in our Pieces for Peace project, to visit us in NYC.
What an exciting week it was! As is typical for CITYarts, all was done with a personal touch, and with the help of friends and Board Members. First, after a long flight and five unpleasant hours spent at the airport, we welcomed them to a home-cooked meal: our Board Member, Amnon Bar-Tur, his wife Kate-who put a lot of TLC into the delicious dinner-and their daughter, Sacha, were all smiles and open arms as the youth walked in, tired but happy to be among new friends.
With us in this beautiful apartment overlooking Central Park was our Chairperson, Carrie Cohen, who extended welcoming wishes. Amnon brought out a subway map to introduce them to our grid city. Sacha told them about her experience being a CITYarts intern on the Peace Wall and taking our project to a school in Bali. As I was giving our guests the plan for the week, our interns, Allegra, Leandra and Allison were snapping photos, followed by engaging them in warm, youthful conversation. Hana'a and Saadia, their dedicated chaperones, extended Thank You's to us all for this unexpected welcome at 10 PM, and the great feeling of being among friends.
We had a great start to the second day by visiting the U.N., arranged for us by Lucie from the Partnership office. This continues our collaboration which, as Amir Dossal, Director of the U.N. Office for Partnerships, says, "We're behind you wherever you go." After their cultural experience at the U.N. Office for Partnerships, the group travelled uptown to the Guggenheim, where they were led by Laura Miller through a tour of the museum and its current exhibition. Next, the students took some time to explore Central Park, our great green oasis at the heart of the city. Later that evening, our students had enjoyed a performance by the the Blue Man Group, who we honored 17 years ago, and then wandered through the buzzing East Village.
On the third day of their stay, the students visited the first of CITYarts' four Peace Walls, in Harlem. It is our great hope that we at CITYarts can continue our fruitful collaboration with the Iraqi youth and soon create a Peace Wall in their country. After a very interesting discussion by the wall, we had to pass on a chance to play baseball and rushed them to the Circle Line. The students were able to take a sightseeing tour on a cruise boat, which took them around the island of Manhattan to view such monuments as the Statue of Liberty. In the spirit of creative exploration, the students next went to the Metropolitan Museum for another art tour and exhibition viewing led by our guide Josephine, and then visited CITYarts' "Alice in Wall Street Land" mural to paint and contribute to the project. Here at the wall I told them about the Stuyvesant High School students who needed to create a mural as a response to their terrible experience after 9/11. From there, we proceeded to beautiful Battery Park and the construction site at Ground Zero. There, one of the students remarked, "For you, the American people, this place is where unexpected terrorism started. For us, it actually in a very strange way marks the beginning of our freedom from oppression." After such a busy day, our Iraqi friends were ready for a relaxing evening at the home of CITYarts supporter, Brigitte Vosse, who provided a wonderful meal and lively discussion in her rooftop apartment on Broadway. Following dinner, the eager students travelled to Times Square to see the lights of "the city that never sleeps," escorted by New Yorkers Yori and Jacquie! Dina, the only girl in the group, said, "I could sit on these stairs all night and watch the happy crowds."
The students' last day in NYC began with a final museum visit, this time to the Natural History Museum where they attended a screening of "Journey to the Stars." Next, they travelled to Columbus Circle, where we were invited to a lunch at LitWorld, a non-profit organization dedicated to realizing global literacy. The students made a presentation about Iraq, then and now. After lunch, our Iraqi friends toured NBC Studios and then climbed to the "Top of the Rock" for wonderful views of the city. For the students' final evening, we planned a special dinner and farewell party to bid our new friends good-bye! The artist Zigi Ben-Haim, who was born in Baghdad and grew up in Israel, introduced them to contemporary art and provided their first visit to an artist's studio. He then presented each of them with a special mini-sculpture with his symbolic turquoise leaf as a symbol of hope for peace in the future. The students and their chaperones performed a beautiful dance for over 60 international guests who gathered, which had everyone clapping and cheering them on! CITYarts Board Members Helene Lawrence, Jean Kim and Irene Minkoff, as well as Glynis Long, from the US Small Business Administration Asia, and Peggy Kerry, US Mission Representative to the UN, also gave each student a CITYarts Peace book, and extended their sincere thanks to them for planting the seeds of peace for the future. A lively discussion then took place with questions and answers, while over sixty guests were enjoying the international buffet dinner from Zabar's, Café Bari and other individuals who contributed delicious international dishes.
I cannot give thanks enough to this year's CITYarts Honoree Badr Jafar who helped to underwrite the cost of the students' visit, our Board Members who each contributed to making this trip a meaningful success, and of course all of our other friends and supporters who are listed below. Also, thanks to Susanne Jalbert and Nadine Hollander, who connected us to Hana'a Bdiwi. They all now form the foundation for CITYarts Global HeARTs Club-stay tuned as more information is coming in the near future.
My best wishes for a great summer,.
Best,
Tsipi
Ben-Haim
Executive & Artistic
Director, CITYarts, Inc.
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Board of Directors
Carrie H. Cohen,
Chairperson
Jean Kim, Secretary
Bernadette Longford,
Treasurer
Helene Saren
Lawrence
Amnon Bar-Tur
Vera Sung
Irene Minkoff
Kate Gehring
Tsipi Ben-Haim,
Executive & Artistic
Director
Board of Advisors
Sam August
Anna Carbonell
Deborah Dugan
Robert Fisher
Alex Gorlin
Katie Hollander
Stephanie Holmquist
Gisela Keller
Charlotta
Kotik
Nina & Daniel
Libeskind
Miranda McClintic
Laura
Miller
Dr. Lewis Peach
Jeanne
Greenberg
Rohatyn
Lois
Vaisman
Irwin Shlachter
Gustavo Stecher
Staff
Tsipi Ben-Haim,
Executive and Artistic Director
Kim Llerena,
Assistant to the Director
Marc Maffei,
Project Coordinator
Jordan Taler,
Creative Coordinator
Interns
Alison Deutsch
Allison Purves
Sara Saramiento
Lena Mei
Katerine Leonetti
Fay Gibson
Leandra Lehmann
Jacqui Greyerson
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"Thinking globally - acting locally, CITYarts projects build bridges of cultural
understanding and give youth the opportunity to take an active role in shaping
their future".
-- Tsipi
Ben-Haim, CITYarts Executive & Artistic Director
MISSION
CITYarts empowers children and youth by bringing them together with
professional artists to create public art that addresses civic and social
issues, impacts their lives, and transforms their communities.
PROGRAMS
We give our children and youth the opportunity to get actively involved
in their communities, do something to make their world a better place, and
assume responsibility through the creation of murals and mosaics led by
professional artists.
PROJECTS
CITYarts public art projects give youth a stage to ask, "What does peace look
like to me?", "What can I do to reduce the speed of global warming?",
and other urgent and relevant questions, and to address them artistically
through cooperation and creation.
RESULTS
Since 1968, CITYarts has created over 280
projects, transformed over 200 communities,
impacted over 100,000 kids in New York and over 5,000 kids internationally,
collaborated with 500 artists, and
partnered with 300,000 volunteersin
the process, with the consistent sponsorship of corporations, foundations, and
individuals.
Thank you in advance for your generous support. Please donate now!
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