ANNUAL REPORT
Annual Report 2011 1
Edwin Torres Associate Director The Rockefeller Foundation
Over Groundswell’s 15-year history, we have completed 300 public art projects in over 40 neighborhoods, engaging 95 artists and thousands of young people.
PHOTOGRAPHER NINA WEINBERG DORAN
Art as a tool for social change is the future of the field. We’ve tried for so long to engage community members in the consumption of art. I think we’ve realized over time that engaging them in the production of art is the best way for it to reflect their concerns, their lived experiences, their values. Groundswell is doing exactly that.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Letter from the Board Chair..................... 3 A Message from the Executive Director...... 4 Summer Leadership Institute..................... 6 2010/2011 In Review.................................... 8 Afterschool Programs............................... 10 School-Based Programs........................... 12 Special Initiatives....................................... 14 Our Donors................................................. 16 2010/2011 Financials................................. 17
Annual Report 2011 1
GROUNDSWELL BOARD CHAIR DAVID GOLDSTEIN WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AMY SANANMAN
LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
2 Groundswell
Groundswell works with 30 community partners and serves 800 youth each year.
LETTER FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
dear friends
Board David Goldstein President Susan Ochshorn Vice President Cedric Gaddy Treasurer Robin Deutsch Edwards Secretary Jay DeDapper Menshahat Ebron Didi Goldenhar Maura Greaney Jenny Laden Joanne Nerenberg Samantha Rhulen
On September 30, Groundswell completed an extraordinary fiscal year. I am pleased to now present Groundswell’s FY11 Annual Report, highlighting the remarkable range of opportunities for young people and public art projects made possible thanks to your generous support. Washington Heights. Sunset Park. East New York. Chelsea. As you will see in the enclosed pages, Groundswell truly is a city-wide organization with a city-wide impact. From Rikers Island to the NYC Lab School, The LGBT Center to the Brooklyn Detention Complex, Groundswell is in the community and on the streets, confronting the day-to-day issues facing our neighbors and kids. This fiscal year was particularly meaningful in that it marked Groundswell’s 15th anniversary as New York City’s leading organization dedicated to community public art. As Groundswell celebrates this milestone, the organization is in the strongest financial and programmatic position in its history.
The enclosed financial figures demonstrate the fiscal health and discipline that remain core Groundswell values, and reflect the diverse group of stakeholders that we serve. In FY11, Groundswell also achieved a number of institutional accomplishments which strengthened our ability to fulfill our mission to use art as a tool for social change and set the stage for the continued growth of our programs and operations well into the next 15 years. We moved to a beautiful new studio space in the heart of the vibrant Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. This new home tripled our square footage, providing us the critical space needed to expand our programs (and store the hundreds of gallons of paint we use each year!). If you haven’t already, I invite you to stop by our offices to see our artmaking studio and youth muralists in action. We also continued to build our support services for Groundswell youth, to ensure they succeed both in our programs and in their lives outside of Groundswell. We welcomed a Youth Advocate to our staff and launched a new program database to help us better understand and track the impact of our work. Finally, we’ve rolled out a fresh new identity that celebrates our growth as an organization and clearly communicates our vision for the future. We hope you’ll agree that this new look captures the power and energy of Groundswell. Watch for a revamped website later this summer as well, which will make it easier for you to connect with us and discover public art in your neighborhood and beyond. Groundswell has grown significantly over the past 15 years, on the strength of increased demand for our programs from both youth and community partners, and the confidence of a diverse array of supporters like you. I am particularly excited to share that Groundswell was one of 16 organizations selected to receive a 2011 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Cultural Innovation Fund. Thanks to this support, Groundswell will launch StreetWise: Hunts Point, a two-year, multi-project partnership with Majora Carter Group and the New York City Department of Transportation in the South Bronx. This grant represents a tremendous investment in Groundswell and our effort to engage, empower, and transform our community through public art, and we look forward to updating you on our progress. In closing, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all members of the Groundswell community – my dedicated Board colleagues, the visionary staff and artists hard at work each day, our diverse array of community partners, and the hundreds of talented and engaged young people. And, of course, thank you for all that you do to make Groundswell’s work possible. Sincerely, DAVID GOLDSTEIN BOARD CHAIR
Annual Report 2011 3
Message from the Executive Director
a moment to reflect
As Groundswell prepares our new and improved Annual Report, it is tremendously gratifying to spend a few moments reflecting on how the organization has grown since our founding 15 years ago. Over our history, Groundswell has worked with thousands of young people, artists, and community members to create more than 300 collaboratively designed public artworks across New York City. As you will see in the enclosed pages, each Groundswell artwork is unique. It could only have been made by that particular group of people in that particular moment in time. Fifteen remarkable young women use public art to make their voices heard in the fight against teen dating abuse. A group of incarcerated students brings a vision of balance and harmony to a corridor on Rikers Island. LGBT youth respond to a string of highly-publicized suicides by gay teenagers with optimism in a vibrant and hopeful mural for The Center.
Despite the singularity of each finished work, all were created through the same rigorous collaborative process. This process empowers young people to use art as a tool for social change and offers an unexpectedly rich lightning rod to engage the broader community. The process begins when a group of disparate stakeholders – teens, artists, community organizations, funders, a willing wall owner – come together around a shared vision and objective. To transform a vacant lot. To speak out against gun violence. To mobilize local residents to improve their streets. Tasked with a specific mission, each team of youth artists dives into intensive research, which might include meeting with experts, going on field trips, and/or interviewing community members. Through hands-on design sessions, these young people develop a unique visual language and vocabulary of images, colors, and gestures. Groundswell artists integrate these visual ideas into a design that has its own artistic integrity, while preserving the contributions of individual team members. Once an initial design is complete, young people share their work publicly with neighborhood residents for feedback and concerns. They return to the studio armed with this community input, prepared to revise and improve the design, before seeking final approval from each project partner. Finally, fabrication begins. Each youth gains experience in all aspects of the artmaking process, working onsite (and largely outdoors) where they continue to engage with community members and share their work. The process ends with a joyous public dedication – an opportunity for the community to celebrate the hard work of Groundswell youth while coming together in consideration of the broader project topic. Through this process, we’ve seen over and over again how public art can activate space and convert it into something extraordinary – inspiring reflection, revelation, action, and change. A groundswell is a sudden surge of growth or a wave of energy surfacing from beneath the ocean. At Groundswell, we support the energy and stories hidden behind walls to be expressed on the walls. And we thank you for YOUR support, which makes all of this and more possible. Sincerely, amy sananman executive director
4 Groundswell
In FY11, Groundswell completed 27 new works of public art.
MISSION
MURAL DEDICATION CEREMONY
Groundswell brings together artists, youth, and community organizations to use art as a tool for social change. Our projects beautify neighborhoods, engage youth in societal and personal transformation, and give expression to ideas and perspectives that are underrepresented in the public dialogue.
Annual Report 2011 5
SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Groundswell’s flagship program is a seven-week summer jobs training intensive that employs up to 100 young people each year. In six teams, each led by two professional artists, these young people research, design, and create high-quality, permanently installed works of public art across New York City. Eighty-six youth participated in our 2011 Summer Leadership Institute, nearly all of them public school students or recent graduates.
Participating in the program this summer was a great opportunity. It allowed me to use art as a way to give back to the community and create a strong message for the public. I really enjoyed working with Groundswell and have learned a lot from this program.
SUMMER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE PROJECT SITE
Mei Kazama Groundswell youth participant
6 Groundswell
Over the course of a single summer, Groundswell uses 140 pints of acrylic paint and 45 gallons of primer.
∞ Dreams (Infinite Dreams)
Justice Mandala
Love Should Always Be Safe
React, Respect, Intersect
Stop, Look, Listen
∞ Dreams (Infinite Dreams) was created in partnership with The Trust for Public Land as part of a larger effort to transform PS 164’s blacktop schoolyard into a green play space. Groundswell youth artists designed and installed a vivid mosaic for elementary school children and community members from the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Borough Park to enjoy.
Justice Mandala explores restorative justice: the act of seeking solutions that repair, reconcile, and rebuild relationships. Youth muralists, including some formerly incarcerated teenagers, connected their personal experiences to a broader conversation about criminal justice to transform the State Street side of the Brooklyn Detention Complex.
During the school year, young women participating in Groundswell’s Voices Her’d Visionaries program researched intimate partner abuse in teen relationships. In the summer, these emerging artists created a unique public art campaign entitled Love Should Always Be Safe to raise awareness of this issue among their peers. The young women also launched a blog (www. groundswellvhv.wordpress. com) to track the process of their campaign.
React, Respect, Intersect was designed by Groundswell apprentice artists to promote traffic safety at a dangerous intersection in Kensington. With its bright colors and large central figure of a young girl holding up her hand as if to say “Stop,” the mural is a visual speed bump that reminds passing drivers what is at stake when they break traffic laws and endanger others.
Before taking on a massive 270 ft pedestrian and vehicle overpass, Groundswell teen artists explored safety and traffic statistics, studied sign-making, and interviewed local Sunset Park residents. Stop, Look, Listen is a vibrant reminder that it is everyone’s responsibility to improve safety conditions within our community.
Medium Mosaic tile on wall
Sponsored by NU Hotel Brooklyn, Court-LivingstonSchermerhorn BID and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership In collaboration with NYC Department of Correction
Size 15 x 70 ft
Medium Acrylic on Wall
Location 4211 14th Avenue Borough Park, Brooklyn
Size 90 x 8 ft
In collaboration with The Trust for Public Land and PS 164
Lead Artist Clare Herron
Location 275 Atlantic Avenue (State Street Side), Downtown Brooklyn
Assistant Artist Grace Baley
Lead Artist Chris Soria
Youth Artists Tiquan Arnon, Immanuel Barnett, Donovan Dawson, Celina Greene, Hasaanul Haq, Emani Hears, Xavier Jackson, Moise Joseph, Danielle Jordan, Jana Lindsay, Nelaja Muhammed, Arielle Negron, Jalen Pringle, Rosemarie Ratcliffe, and Valentin Rodriguez
Assistant Artist Misha Tyutyunik Youth Artists Akeem Bedward, Jelissa Caldwell, John Cepeda, David Hunter, Badley Jules, Mei Kazama, Annie Lee, Alexis Meza, Maya Pruitt, Raymond Reyes, Elijah Rodriguez, Thomas Torchio, and Isaac Treadwell
In collaboration with Day ONE Medium Poster Campaign, Screen Printing, Blog Lead Artist Nicole Schulman Assistant Artist Tanya Linn Albrigtsen-Frable Youth Artists Sandra Aghedo, Tichina Alexander, Gloryann Anderson, Dakota Austin, Shianti Bratcher, Rebecca Cocks, Dominique Delouis, Emeli Herrera, Casey Jones, Michelle Lopez, Joanna Palermo, Saradyn Sanon, Jonell Santiago, and Cherry Sompanya
In collaboration with NYC Department of Transportation’s Office of Safety Education and its Urban Art Program division Medium Acrylic on Wall Size 25 x 64 ft Location 338 East 5th Street Kensington, Brooklyn Lead Artist Yana Dimitrova Assistant Artist Adam Kidder Youth Artists Ariel Azore, Ra-Shawn Barino, Michael Coleman, Yves Fatal, Nataya Friedan, Jazmine Hayes, Ivan Jacobson, Peter Kehinde, Bill Ng, Cassandra Parbolus, and Joanna Roberts
In collaboration with NYC Department of Transportation’s Office of Safety Education and its Urban Art Program division Medium Acrylic on Wall Size 8 x 270 ft Location Overpass at 7th Avenue and 63rd Street, Sunset Park, Brooklyn Lead Artist Conor McGrady Assistant Artist Amy Mahnick Youth Artists Alexander Battle, Zhenyao Chen, Kevin Gales, Calvin Lin, Wy Ming Lin, Christian MatiasCortes, Stephanie Moore, Flabio Tiberius Perez, Joshua Rich, Keyla Rijo, Kassandra Trinidad, and Niyah Williams
Weaving Change Beyond the Shadows
Weaving Change Beyond the Shadows addresses the devastating impact of gun use in New York City and offers alternatives to violence for young people. In the mural, a series of diverse figures are connected by a long, beautiful cloth. The cloth is whole in some places, torn in others. By standing together, the figures take responsibility to mend the fabric and restore peace to their community. In collaboration with American Friends Service Committee and Community League of the Heights (CLOTH) Medium Acrylic on Wall Size 14 x 70 ft Location 500 W 159th Street Washington Heights, New York Lead Artists Crystal Bruno and Frank Parga Youth Artists Tadina De La Rosa, Dranisleidi Disla, Travis Hewitt-Roach, Melissa Lopez, Pamela Luna, Malikah Mahone, Sarah Martinez, Adan Palermo, Miguel Paulino, Stephanie Pena, Angel Sanchez, Danilsa Santana, Shadey Rojas, Kimberley Valcarcel, and Averi Williams Annual Report 2011 7
YEAR IN REVIEW
15
26 1 ∞ Dreams (Infinite Dreams), Borough Park 2 Balance, RIKERS ISLAND 3 Be Alert, EAST NEW YORK 4 Be Smart, Don’t Double Park, ELTINGVILLE 5 BRC Mosaic, LOWER EAST SIDE 6 Communidad Global, Global Community, SUNSET Park
11 Love Should Always Be Safe, GOWANUS 12 MetrOrganism, EAST NEW YORK 13 Pay Attention, WASHINGTON HEIGHTS 14 Pay Attention, QUEENS VILLAGE 15 Rainforest and Butterflies, EAST CHESTER 16 React, Respect, Intersect, KENSINGTON
7 Cross Carefully, WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
17 Respect Your World, HUNTS POINT
8 Diversity is a Rich Tapestry, CHELSEA
18 Stop at Red, JAMAICA ESTATES
9 First Impression, CHELSEA
19 Stop, Look, BOROUGH PARK
10 Justice Mandala, DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN
13 7 27
21 The People of Sunset Park, SUNSET PARK
4 BRONX 17
22 Transformative Moments, BEDFORD
MANHATTAN
STUYVESANT
QUEENS
23 Transforming Your Transit to Tranquility,
2
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN
24 Use the Crosswalk,
24
8 9
FLUSHING
25 Utopian Time Machine, WILLIAMSBURG
5
26 Wear Your Helmet, MARBLE HILL
18
25
23 10
27 Weaving Change Beyond the Shadows, WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
14 22
11
20 Stop, Look, Listen, SUNSET PARK
12
6 21 20 19
3
16 1
BROOKLYN
15-Year Timeline 1996 The Golden Birdcage Groundswell creates first mural, “How Our People Left Everything Behind/The Golden Birdcage,” with Mexican-born youth in Williamsburg. The upsurge of energy generated by the project inspires the name, Groundswell.
8 Groundswell
1997 Everyone Holds a World Groundswell incorporates as a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support participatory mural-making projects driven by New York’s marginalized communities.
1998 We Are Here to Awaken from the Illusion of Our Separateness Groundswell runs two summer programs employing ten teens and serving an additional thirty youth through two murals in partnership with Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice and Gowanus Houses.
1999 Peace is not a Dream in Storage Barnard College and Pew Charitable Trusts study Groundswell’s innovative approach to civic engagement. “Peace is not a Dream in Storage” attracts attention from The New York Times, NBC, and Oxygen Media. First Benefit raises $3,000.
2000 Elephants Groundswell completes first Three Year Strategic Plan, laying out our vision to bring a renaissance of creativity, community, and color to the streets by organizing community residents through murals, workshops, and apprenticeships.
2001 Sunset Park Unity Mural Groundswell receives two-year capacity building grant from the Open Society Institute, enabling us to hire part-time staff and plan for a permanent home.
90% of community partners feel Groundswell successfully met or exceeded their project expectations.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
American Friends Service Committee Aspirations Diploma Plus High School, East New York BRC
WEAVING CHANGE BEYOND THE SHADOWS
Community League of the Heights (CLOTH)
2002 The Children’s Grove Groundswell sets up studio/ office at 339 Douglass Street, Brooklyn. Eighty people create eight murals around New York. Thirty teens participate in our summer jobs program. 2003 House Everyone Groundswell launches Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA) program, serving seven youth. Fifth Art Auction Benefit raises $10,000.
2004 I Deal, I Dream, I Do First bronze reliefs created with public/private school partnership. Board expands to fourteen members, including a youth representative, and Artistic Advisory Committee is founded. 2005 Voices Groundswell is recognized with a Union Square Award. TEMA afterschool program doubles. Over 150 youth and adults create twelve murals. Groundswell completes Strategic Plan 2006-2009.
2006 Our Community Groundswell celebrates ten years in mural making. Honorary Advisory Board is established. 2007 Art Builds Community, Community Creates Change Groundswell serves 350 youth, who design and create fifteen socially relevant works of public art.
Court-LivingstonSchermerhorn BID Day One Downtown Brooklyn Partnership Ella McQueen Reception Center
IS 367, Hunts Point
PS 33, Queens Village
Lutheran Medical Center
PS 55, Eltingville
New Lang School
PS 78, Eastchester
Nu Hotel
PS 105, Borough Park
NYC Department of Correction
PS 128, Washington Heights
NYC Department of Education NYC Department of Transportation NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies, Chelsea
Farrow & Ball
NYS Office of Children and Family Services
IS 143, Washington Heights
PS 20, Flushing
IS 238, Jamaica Estates
PS 24, Sunset Park
2008 Informed, Empowered Voices Her’d Visionaries speak out against military recruitment targeting youth in low-income areas through “Informed Empowered.” Groundswell partners with the Office of the Mayor to revitalize the entrance to a 900-foot-long subway underpass with “New York City is a Rollercoaster.”
to FIT, NYU, and Evergreen College. City of Newark contracts Groundswell to train its government agencies, community-based organizations, and artists in our collaborative method.
2009 Piece Out, Peace In Groundswell launches Portfolio Development program, and its inaugural class secures acceptances
2010 Some Walls Are Invisible Groundswell relocates to newly renovated office/studio space at 540 President Street, tripling our square footage. This relocation is fully funded by a private capital campaign.
PS 164, Borough Park PS 310, Marble Hill PS 345, East New York The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center Trust for Public Land Williamsburg Northside School
2011 Weaving Change Beyond the Shadows Groundswell celebrates 15th anniversary as New York’s leading organization dedicated to community public art. 15th Anniversary Art Auction Benefit raises $100,000. Groundswell partners with over 30 community organizations, engages 800 youth, and launches first digital media public art campaign.
Annual Report 2011 9
WORKER BEES
AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS
Groundswell’s afterschool programs provide youth opportunities to learn creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and compassion (“the Four C’s”) through a traditional apprenticeship model. Each program is designed on a template of sequential activities that support the creation of collaborative public art. In FY11, two-thirds of youth enrolled were returning participants, offered the chance to develop advanced artistic and leadership skills and serve as mentors to their peers. Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA)
Sunset Park Family Health Center a vibrant community health center. The mural evokes a digital image viewer, with a rolling landscape of Sunset Park serving as background to a series of floating individual portraits.
The largest of our afterschool programs, TEMA supports the development of artistic skills while furthering broader youth development objectives. In FY11, two TEMA sections with a total enrollment of 33 teens met weekly during three hour sessions between October and June, for a total of 100 supervised contact hours. Each session engaged participants in the creation of a work of art for a commissioning organization.
Transforming Your Transit to Tranquility
The People of Sunset Park
Acrylic on Parachute Cloth, 100 ft
In collaboration with Lutheran Medical Center and its Sunset Park Family Health Center for Women and Children Medium
In collaboration with NYC Department of Transportation and its Urban Art Program Medium Location
Tillary Street between Jay and Adams Streets in Downtown Brooklyn
Acrylic on Parachute Cloth, 5 x 22 ft
Lead Artist
Location
Voices Her’d Visionaries (VHV) Lead Artists
Nicole Schulman and Katie Yamasaki During a spring afterschool session, Groundswell’s Voices Her’d Visionaries program for exceptional young women met weekly to research and discuss ideas for a summer public art project. The team of ten Visionaries identified the topic “women and healthy relationships in an age of new technology.” The women investigated different types of teen dating abuse and how those abuses are played out in today’s technology-dependent age. Over 60% of participants in the spring VHV session returned to the summer project, mentoring new additions to the team of visionary artists.
5610 Second Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Chris Beck
Portfolio Development
Assistant Artist
Lead Artist
Tanya Albrigtsen-Frable
Lead Artist
Yana Dimitrova Assistant Artist
Sophia Dawson Youth Artists
Royale Bastien, Shianti Bratcher, Jesus Castillo, Ronson Cezile, Gabriella Grafakos, Catherine Hunt, Casey Jones, Shakara Jones, Alexis Meza, Kevon Nicholas, Adan Palermo, Eric Palermo, Maribel Sanchez, Susana Sanchez, Thomas Torchio, Niyah Williams, and Lena Yu The People of Sunset Park is inspired by the medical staff, hospital administrators, and local residents who have helped make the 10 Groundswell
Youth Artists
Renangie Alcantara-Polanco, Alexander Battle, John Cepeda, Fanta Conde, Ariel Estrella, Leandi Gaton, Anthony Huertero, Lin Liao, Kabrina McRae, Abel Peralta, Jalen Pringle. Raymond Reyes, Valentin Rodriguez, Jaylene Santos, Tiffany Yao, and Wen Lian Zhang Transforming Your Transit to Tranquility was designed in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation and its Urban Art Program’s traffic barrier beautification project. Nine panels face pedestrian and bicycle traffic along a 100 ft concrete structure. The mural suggests transformation and motion, portraying a single sheet of paper transforming from a plane into a boat.
Conor McGrady Portfolio Development serves as a capstone to Groundswell’s broader youth programs. This pre-professional training program offers a unique opportunity for talented youth artists interested in pursuing postsecondary art education. The curriculum is challenging, and it encourages emerging artists to build technical skills, discover their artistic voice, and achieve their creative potential. In FY11, seven youth worked with artist Conor McGrady in a studio environment between October and December. Of the year’s graduating class, 80% of participants completed portfolios and were accepted into art programs of their choice, including California College of the Arts and Fashion Institute of Technology.
99% of youth participants believe they will use skills learned at Groundswell in other aspects of their lives.
Alexander Battle Groundswell youth participant
PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT
My time at Groundswell has helped me to become more confident in myself, improve my capabilities in group dynamics, and be more open to the world. All the things I gained at Groundswell I know I can apply in my other pursuits.
TEEN EMPOWERMENT MURAL APPRENTICESHIP
AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS
Annual Report 2011 11
SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMS
NEDD LARGER IMAGE
12 Groundswell
COMMUNIDAD GLOBAL, GLOBAL COMMUNITIES
Katie Yamasaki Groundswell artist
WILLIAMSBURG NORTHSIDE SCHOOL
The PS 24 students took great pride in making visual decisions throughout the project and then telling everyone that passed which parts they had painted. Many, many people from PS 24 (which is fully accessible) stopped to comment on how thrilled they were to see children who are differently-abled represented in the mural.
100% of parents strongly agree that Groundswell teaches their children community involvement.
school-based programs
Through school-based mural residencies, Groundswell works in public school classrooms to enhance the standard curricula and expose young people to the arts while creating cross-disciplinary connections between the arts and other academic disciplines. Communidad Global, Global Community
First Impression
Rainforest and Butterflies
in collaboration with PS 24
in collaboration with Trust for Public Land and PS 78
Medium & Size
in collaboration with Farrow & Ball and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center
Medium & Size
Acrylic on Concrete, 6 panels, 2 x 8 ft
Lead Artist
Acrylic on Wall, 8 x 36 ft
Lead Artist
Chris Soria
Katie Yamasaki
Assistant Artist
Assistant Artist
Crystal Bruno
Tanya Albrigtsen-Frable
Youth Artists
Youth Artists
Ten LGBT youth aged 16–20 years old
Twelve 3rd and 4th grade students
Location
Location
208 West 13th Street, Chelsea, New York
427 38th Street, Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Medium & Size
Communidad Global, Global Community celebrates the diversity of the PS 24 school community. PS 24 students of different races, physical abilities, and personality traits coexist peacefully within the mural. A series of kites serves as a visual thread with text in Spanish, English, Bengali, Arabic, Polish, and Chinese to represent the different languages spoken at the school. Diversity is a Rich Tapestry
in collaboration with NYC Lab School for Collaborative Studies Medium & Size
Acrylic on Brick, 8 x 45 ft Lead Artist
Nicole Schulman Youth Artists
60 8th grade students Location
333 W 17th Street, Chelsea, New York Diversity is a Rich Tapestry memorializes NYC Lab School student Jabulani Summers, age eleven. The mural process supported the school community’s healing for the loss of Jabulani. All eighth grade students participated, with those who knew him well taking a lead role in the design. In the mural, Jabulani speaks the Maya Angelou quote, “Diversity makes for a rich tapestry. All threads are equal, no matter what color.” Silhouettes of children playing span the bottom of the image.
Farrow & Ball Paint on Wood Panel, 12 x 7.5 ft. First Impression was created by a group of teens at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center. At the time of its creation, a string of highly publicized suicides by gay teens generated a national discussion about gay kids’ experiences. The mural’s dark edges suggest we are witnessing a moment of illumination. Beams of color burst from the middle of the composition and illuminate a diverse array of silhouetted heads. MetrOrganism
in collaboration with Aspirations Diploma Plus High School Medium & Size
Acrylic on Pillars, 3 pillars 8 x 11 ft Lead Artist
Chris Soria Assistant Artist
Frank Parga Youth Artists
Six high school students aged 16–20 years old Location
1495 Herkimer Street, East New York, Brooklyn MetrOrganism was created for three cylindrical pillars in the Aspirations Diploma Plus High School library. Student artists developed imagery through observation of the immediate neighborhood and environment. Free association exercises led to a vision of the city as living organism. Each image in the triptych is continuous to the left and right in either direction.
Lead Artist
Yana Dimitrova Assistant Artist
Amy Mahnick Youth Artists
30 fifth grade students Location
1400 Needham Avenue, Eastchester, Bronx Rainforest and Butterflies was designed in partnership with Trust for Public Land as part of its larger transformation of a vacant lot at PS 78 into a new community playground. The mural supports the students’ vision for a vibrant natural green space in which to play and grow. Imagery is inspired by the fifth grade artists’ classroom study of the rainforest and its many different species of butterflies. Utopian Time Machine
in collaboration with Williamsburg Northside School Lead Artist
Frank Parga Assistant Artist
Tanya Albrigtsen-Frable Youth Artists
17 elementary school students aged 5–6 years old Medium & Size
Acrylic on Wall, 11 x 24 ft Location
70 Havemeyer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Utopian Time Machine realizes a group of elementary school students’ vision of Utopia, or a perfect day in their community. The central image of the mural is a lightning-powered machine which can transport the students anywhere, anytime. Japanese cranes are visible throughout the image, included by the students following the 2011 tsunami.
Annual Report 2011 13
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
Transformative Moments
Groundswell’s special initiatives are designed to reach a greater community of young people and adults not engaged by our summer, afterschool, and school-based programs. These initiatives are driven by meaningful partnerships with alternative sentencing programs, city agencies, and educational institutions.
Safety Sign Initiative
Public Programs
Through a unique curriculum designed in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation and its Office of Education and Outreach, Groundswell engages 5th and 8th grade public school students in the creation of original traffic safety signs for their communities. These young people explore traffic conditions on streets adjacent to their school and then create a personalized safety message for pedestrians and motorists. A selection of signs designed collaboratively by the students are fabricated by the DOT sign shop and temporarily installed in local locations identified by the students. In FY11, Groundswell and the Department of Transportation partnered with ten schools throughout the five boroughs, engaging 300 students. The students’ work was celebrated through “Young Artists for Safer Streets,” an exhibition of traffic safety signs installed at Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan and St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island between May and October.
Throughout the year, Groundswell presents educational mural tours designed to engage a broad audience in our collaborative artmaking process. Attendees learn more about the history of public art and discover how murals have influenced and shaped the New York City landscape. When possible, tours visit a mural-in-process worksite, to introduce attendees to the young artists at the heart of Groundswell’s work. In FY11, Groundswell presented six educational tours, helping to build our audience and inspiring an ongoing conversation about public art.
14 Groundswell
Juvenile Justice
Groundswell’s juvenile justice initiative serves New York City young people involved at all stages of the criminal justice continuum. Our work emphasizes sustained involvement with court-involved, incarcerated, and formerly incarcerated youth to provide them the ongoing support needed to avoid delinquent behavior and promote their positive growth over time. Through a mural residency program for incarcerated youth, Groundswell artists work onsite at public high schools located within City- and State-run detention facilities. Each residency supports staff and corrections officers in their efforts to improve academic performance and prepare students for a successful
discharge. In FY11, Groundswell completed our fourth and fifth murals onsite in juvenile detention facilities. Groundswell’s alternative detention program, TurnStyle, is focused on accountability and skill-building for youth arrested for minor offenses such as vandalism, fare evasion, and truancy. Appropriate young people are sentenced to Groundswell by the New York City Department of Probation, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and our community partner, the Center for Court Innovation. During community services hours fulfilled at our office, participants complete basic office and facilities maintenance tasks, fostering the development of work readiness skills. Segue affords graduates of TurnStyle an opportunity to develop more specialized art skills needed to participate in Groundswell’s afterschool and summer artmaking programs. During intensive skill-building workshops with Groundswell artists, Segue participants complete hands-on artmaking activities which contribute to the completion of a public art project in partnership with a community-based organization. In FY11, TurnStyle engaged 40 youth participants. Five of these young people successfully transitioned to Segue and were invited to join our summer and afterschool programs.
Each year, 65% of Groundswell mural apprentices participate in both our summer and afterschool offerings, for a total annual contact time of 275 hours.
Transformative Moments model
Transformative Moments SKETCH
SPECIAL INITIATIVES
The Department of Correction believes it’s important that kids are given opportunities to be agents of social change. Groundswell murals represent what we can do together, and that we can do more together than we can do alone. Winette Saunders Halyard NYC Department of Correction Assistant Commissioner
Balance
Transformative Moments
BRC Mosaic
in collaboration with NYC Department of Correction and NYC Department of Education
in collaboration with NYS Department of Children and Family Services and the Ella McQueen Reception Center for Boys
in collaboration with BRC and its Casa de los Vecinos Transitional Housing Facility
Medium and Size
Acrylic on wall, 8 x 24 ft Location
Youthful Offender RNDC corridor, Rikers Island, New York Lead Artist
Chris Soria Assistant Artist
Misha Tyutyunik Youth Artists
Twelve incarcerated youth aged 16–18 years old Created by East River Academy high school students incarcerated on Rikers Island, Balance explores how the Feng Shui ideal of balance might be realized in the students’ every day lives. The development of the mural involved youth from diverse backgrounds in a collaborative and inclusive process. Its unveiling was celebrated by students, detainees, and Department of Correction staff, and its presence has inspired other detainees to create their own works of creative writing, poetry, and artwork.
Medium and Size
Acrylic on wall, 8 x 24 ft Location
41 Howard Avenue, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Lead Artist
Chris Soria Youth Artists
Medium
Mosaic tile on wall Location
91 Pitt Street, Lower East Side, Manhattan Lead Artist
Jessica Poplawski Youth Artists
Five incarcerated youth aged 14–16 years old
Participants in Groundswell’s Segue program for juvenile offenders
Transformative Moments was developed in partnership with Ella McQueen Residential Center, a New York State juvenile detention center in Bedford Stuyvesant. The mural, installed in the Center’s reception room, greets residents with a message of personal and collective transformation. Aphorisms inscribed throughout the mural read “Life is a circle. We are each responsible for our own actions,” and “There was never night that had no morn.”
Through Groundswell’s Segue program, juvenile offenders worked with artist Jessica Poplawski and community partner BRC to create a mosaic for the entryway of Casa De Los Vecinos, a transitional housing residence for individuals living with mental illness. The mosaic welcomes all to the facility with a message of hope, health, and home.
Annual Report 2011 15
OUR DONORS Groundswell warmly thanks the following generous contributors. Public Funders National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts New York Council for the Humanities New York City Department of Cultural Affairs New York City Department of Education New York City Department of Youth and Community Development Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz State Senator Velmanette Montgomery Councilmember Sara M. Gonzalez Councilmember Letitia James Councilmember Brad Lander Councilmember Stephen Levin Councilmember Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. Capital Campaign Booth Ferris Foundation Marc I. Gross and Susan Ochshorn Hyde and Watson Foundation Rob Krulak Annual Campaign $25,000 + Catalog for Giving Davis, Polk, & Wardwell LLP Lambent Foundation $10,000 – 24,999 Altman Foundation Brooklyn Community Foundation Colgate Scaffolding David Rockefeller Fund EILEEN FISHER Marc I. Gross and Susan Ochshorn Hersha Hospitality Rob Krulak 16 Groundswell
Two West Foundation Valentine Perry Snyder Fund Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation $5,000 – 9,999 Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation Jay DeDapper and Tod Wohlfarth Robin Deutsch Edwards and David Edwards Goldstein Hall PLLC David Goldstein Johnson Ohana Charitable Trust Pomerantz, Haudek, Block, Grossman and Gross LLP Michael Ratner and Karen Ranucci Leila Yassa and David Mendels $1,000 – 4,999 Anonymous Artforum D.J. Edelman Family Foundation Lenore and Robert Davis Definition 6 Deutsch, A Lowe and Partners Company Sarah Dhar Kevin Dotson and Betsy Witten Electric Artists Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation Jay and Patricia Freeman Cedric and Joanne Gaddy Jill Gerstenblatt Global Novations LLC Didi Goldenhar and Bill Kornblum Maura Greaney Hayward Pools Hannah Senesh Community Day School HBO Jewish Federation of Cleveland Paula S. Krulak Sandy Krulak
Jenny Laden Daniel LeBlanc Lutheran Medical Center M. Booth and Associates Ray Master Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Nathan and Fannye Shafran Foundation Anne Nelson Joanne Nerenberg and Aaron Naparstek Majken and Bo Nielsen Ellen Ratner and Cholene Espinoza Samantha Rhulen Sagalyn Family Fund Peter Sananman Bradley Solomon and David Kaufman Theodore Stachiaris Nola Steinberg David Sweeney The Fortunoff Foundation Weaver Popcorn Company $500 – 999 Anonymous Margaret Barnette Dan and Melissa Berger Dina Bleecker and Jon Thompson Jill Bokor and Sanford Smith Boston Consulting Group Marie de Lucia and Lee Solot Jennifer Eisenberg George Ulanet Company Renata Gomes Nicholas Grabar and Jennifer Sage Neil Hirsch Julius and Evelyn Melnick Foundation Christine Klotz Wendy Madden Michael Ness Matthew Patterson Robert Perry and Carolina Conde-Perry Christina Rupp Elizabeth Sackler
Elisa Sananman Joan Shafran and Rob Haimes Michael Sturmer and Caroline Samuels $250 – 499 Acme Projects American Express Company Kathy Banfe Allison Barlow and David Ochshom Zola Bruce and Sandy Scott Lidy Chu Giro Desimone and Jennifer Nyp Robert Deutsch Menshahat Ebron Farrow & Ball Evan Gaffney Nina Goldman and Douglas Legg Hester Street Collaborative Daniel Jacobson and Amy Sumner James Jubak and Marie D’Amico Amy Katcherian Mary Beth Kelly David Kener and Michelle Matland Legion Paper Jimena Martinez and Michael Hirschhorn Pulse Art Fair Amy Sananman and Mauricio Trenard Michael Sananman Sanford Smith and Associates Launa Schweizer and Bill Lienhard Carla Solomon Gil Wolchock Maria Yamasaki $100 – 249 Acquis Consulting Group LLC Herbert and Ann Alter Marsha Baldinger Albert Belman Debbie Bilman Lauren Blum
Greg Brooks Michael Bucci Michael Capobianco Jackie Chang and Joe Matunis Laura Cronin Colleen Cunningham Sooky and Scott Davis Jon and Nina Day Rachel Decker Derek Denckla and Lara Vapnek Andrew Deutsch Nancy and Morris Deutsch Carolyn Dobbs Nicole Dooskin Tim and Jo Drescher John Dumey Saranne Durkacs Jordana Dworkin Neil Falcone Federated Title Services Randi and Stuart Feiner Fifth Avenue Committee Leslie Findlen Kate Fitzgerald Amy Fitzgibbons Sheldon Fox Faye Ginsburg and Fred Myers Sidney and Susan Goldstein Eugene and Joan Goodheart Seth and Judy Greenwald Alice Griffiths Howard Hecht David Hoffman Jamle Houde Elizabeth Isakson and Gregg Fatzinger Dona Kahn Hiroko and Rich Karlen Sharryn Kasmir and Benjamin Dulchin Mark and Susan Kendall Aaron Koffman Diane Kolyer Ellen Kozak Dorchen Leidholdt Jacqueline Leitzes Janet Liff Tara Mack and Gary Younge Mastermind Management Cynthia Mayeda
Mersel, Klein, and Company LLP Elizabeth Miller Gary Morgenroth Lisa Mueller and Gara LaMarche Erik Muller Kimberly Neuhaus and Kedin Kilgore Genevieve Outlaw Park Slope Yoga Stuart Post Sam Potts Punched in the Head Productions Katherine Randall and Stephen Pred Rachel Ratner and Richard Greenspan Eileen and Peter Rhulen Sloane Rhulen Karen and Robert Romanoff Andrew Rosenberg Muzzy Rosenblatt Carol and Arnold Rubin Joanne Sciulli Jonathan and Shannon Sharp Doris Ullendorff and Kenneth Gorfinkle Vee Corp Andrew Vernon-Jones Choresh Wald and Tal Pritzker Mariel Wong Ellen Yaroshefsky This list includes gifts which supported Groundswell’s FY11 activities. Groundswell is grateful to all our supporters. This list includes gifts of $100 and above.
89¢ of every dollar contributed directly supports Groundswell’s programs for NYC youth.
FinancIALS
Temporarily Unrestricted Restricted Total
Unrestricted
INCOME
ASSETS
Contributions
Cash and Cash Equivalents
$277,520 $337,460 $614,980
Fundraising Benefits
89,519
89,519
Unrestricted
Less Direct Benefit Expenses
(5,059)
(5,059)
Board Designated Operating Reserve
180,000
Temporarily Restricted
262,500
Donated Services, Materials, and Supplies Program Fees Interest Income Other Income Net Assets Released from Restrictions TOTAL REVENUE AND PUBLIC SUPPORT
58,052
58,052
213,895
213,895
1,884
1,884
1,950
1,950
186,592 $824,353
(186,592)
$177,287
Unconditional Promises to Give Unrestricted
3,200
Restricted
91,250
Accounts Receivable
27,100
Prepaid Expenses
$150,868
$975,221
EXPENSES
2,189
Property and Equipment, at cost, net of accumulated depreciation
130,963
Security Deposits
Program Services
$632,486
$632,486
Supporting Services Management and General
154,618
98,063
98,063
252,681
252,681
$885,167
$885,167
Total Supporting Services TOTAL EXPENSES CHANGE IN NET ASSETS
(60,814)
NET ASSETS, BEGINNING OF YEAR NET ASSETS, END OF YEAR
TOTAL ASSETS
$883,489
154,618
Fundraising
9,000
150,868
90,054
414,621
303,260
717,881
$353,807
$454,128
$807,935
LIABILITIES Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses
$6,670
Refundable Advances
43,205
Deferred Rent
25,679
TOTAL LIABILITIES
$75,554
NET ASSETS Unrestricted Board Designated Operating Reserve Other
63% Contributions
9% Benefit
6% Interest, donate services, other income
22% Program fees
EXPENSES $885,167
72% Program expenses
17% Management & general expenses
11% Fundraising & development expenses
173,807
Total Unrestricted
353,807
Temporarily Restricted
454,128
Total Net Assets INCOME $975,221
$180,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
807,935 $883,489
Annual Report 2011 17
Amy Sananman Executive Director Patrick Dougher Program Director Sharon Polli Development and Communications Director Sophia Dawson Office Manager Trey Gantt Youth Advocate Madeleine LeMieux Development and Communications Associate
PHOTOGRAPHER NINA WEINBERG DORAN
Adan Palermo Program Intern Jess Poplawski Program Manager
Groundswell 540 President Street, Suite 1A Brooklyn, NY 11215 718.254.9782 www.groundswellmural.org