Art Ready: Selected Work from the Artist Mentorship Program

About

The exhibition presents the work of students who participated in the 2015-2016 session of Art Ready, Smack Mellon’s arts mentorship program for high school students interested in pursuing a career in the visual arts.This year the students worked with professional artists who specialize in painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, public space design, graphic design, jewelry, photography, and video. During the spring semester students have experimented with paper casting, figurative drawings, a photo scavenger hunt and a reflective project making a personal flag. Included in the show will be an impressive range of media such as painting, metalwork and animation among others.

Student Artists: Sabrina Alikran, Wilfrido Batista, Zelarn Bly, Avery Castro, Elyse Cruz, DeAvion Douglas, Kodai Emig, Sunny Forhad, Rodney Guerra, Jordan Huyhn, Katherine Hwang, Jalyssa Jimenez, Jayda Jones, Glarielle Merzier, Danielle Moulton, Asante Nyante, Emma Pesin, Javier Ramirez

Artist Mentors: Michael Paul Britto, Cecile Chong, Beth Dary, Nyeema Morgan, Emilie Shapiro, Phillip Shung, Chat Travieso

Art Ready is a mentorship program designed to give students the opportunity to experience firsthand what it is like to be a professional working in a visual arts discipline. Students are exposed to a wide variety of artists and arts professionals, participate in mentorships, and visit museums and galleries. This year, the Art Ready group took field trips to such cultural venues as the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Art & Design, and Urban Glass. Individual mentor groups’ excursions included the Jewelry District, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Students also participated in a special group workshop on college portfolio prep led by teaching artist Sonya Blesofsky and received additional artist talks from Victoria Calabro and Dread Scott. Read more about students’ and mentors’ experiences on the Art Ready blog: smartready.wordpress.com.

Smack Mellon's mission is to nurture and support emerging, under-recognized mid-career and women artists in the creation and exhibition of new work, by providing exhibition opportunities, studio workspace, and access to equipment and technical assistance for the realization of ambitious projects. We see ourselves as a vehicle whereby under-represented artists can create, explore and exhibit their creative ideas outside the concerns of the commercial art world, offering many artists the exposure and recognition they deserve. In 2007, Smack Mellon initiated Art Ready to extend its artistic services to creative high school students.

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Smack Mellon’s Education Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, New York City Council Member Stephen Levin, and with support from Select Equity Group Foundation, Exploring The Arts and Smack Mellon’s Members.

Smack Mellon’s programs are also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, and with generous support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund of The New York Community Trust, Lambent Foundation, The Roy and Niuta Titus Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., Gilbert Mackay Foundation, The Robert Lehman Foundation, The Greenwich Collection Ltd, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Inc., Iorio Charitable Foundation, and Smack Mellon’s Members. Space for Smack Mellon’s programs is generously provided by the Walentas Family and Two Trees Management.

In-kind donations are provided by Artist & Craftsman Supply, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and by Materials for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs/NYC Department of Sanitation/NYC Department of Education. Special thanks to Downtown Community Television and GlobalHue.