THE COURAGE TO CREATE
Fiscal Year 2025 Impact Report
THE COURAGE TO CREATE
Every act of creativity begins with courage: the courage to try something new, to take a risk, to share an idea that might not work…but might change everything. We nurture that courage daily through our work with thousands of NYC kids, teens, and young adults each year.
Our young artists are growing up in a world that changes by the hour; they’ll need imagination and resilience to meet challenges we can’t yet foresee. When you partner with Creative Art Works, you make space for young people to find their voice, to take brave creative leaps, and to shape a future built on possibility.
Thank you for standing beside the next generation of brave young New Yorkers.
Creativity is courage in action.
This is Bianca. Her huge smile hides the fact that less than an hour before this photo was taken, she was convinced that she could not complete her art project in our Adventures in Artland program. The goal was to create a set of nesting dolls inspired by a story about a family of Russian dolls. Bianca kept insisting to Teaching Artist Assistant Madeline De León that she needed an adult to do the work for her, but Maddie simply kept smiling and telling her, “I believe you can do it yourself!” With a lot of coaxing, and the promise that she would be able to ask for help if she truly got stuck, Bianca agreed to dive in and try. By the end of class, she finished these four beautiful dolls. She was so proud that she pleaded to have her picture taken. Artmaking teaches students to take healthy risks and to not fear making mistakes. It’s a valuable lesson that serves them well throughout their academic career.
Our Thanks 2
The Courage to Create
Meeting Challenges Head-On
FY 2025 Accomplishments
Creative Workforce Development
In-School Programs
Out-of-School-Time Programs
Community Artmaking Events
Our Impact by the Numbers
FY 2025 Teaching Artists
Board Members and Staff
CAW Teaching Artist Carlita Field-Hernandez helps PS 155 students curate a gallery show of their artwork
“As an artistic person, I have a lot of fun with the creative freedom of painting, and working on such a big scale is really exciting for me. But, obviously, you can’t ignore the fact that this is a very physical job.”
— CAW Youth Apprentice Amber Valdez
Meeting Challenges Head-On
Dear Friend,
There is a special kind of bravery that happens every day in our classrooms and at our worksites. It looks like a first-grader picking up a paintbrush for the first time. It sounds like a middle school student saying out loud, “I have a different idea.” Sometimes, it’s the kind of quiet courage it takes to start over when something doesn’t turn out as expected.
At Creative Art Works, we know this is what artmaking is all about. It’s about taking healthy risks, learning from mistakes, and discovering your own voice along the way. When young people make art, they learn that failure isn’t the end of the story—it’s part of the process. They build confidence and resilience. They learn to collaborate, to speak their truth, and to see the world in new ways. These are not just art skills; they are life skills.
The world our young people are growing up in is changing faster than ever, and they will need the courage and creativity to think differently, to adapt, and to find new solutions. Artmaking helps them develop that mindset. It shows them that their voices matter—that their perspective can shape the world around them.
With your support, in FY 2025 (September 1, 2024 - August 31, 2025), CAW offered creative youth development opportunities to more than 2,000 kids, teens, and young adults. We provided 367 apprenticeships to young people from across the city. We engaged more than 1,000 NYC students with In-School and After-School artmaking programs. And we served nearly 600 children, along with their family members, through Community Artmaking events. This report shares just some of the impact of these activities.
We are proud to stand beside these young people as they take brave first steps toward the future. And we are deeply grateful to everyone—our teaching artists, partners, funders, and friends—who make that possible. Thank you for being part of our work and for believing, as we do, that creativity and courage can transform lives and communities.
With appreciation,
Karen Jolicoeur Executive Director
In Fiscal Year 2025, we...
...provided 367 Youth Apprenticeships in the creation of large-scale public art and digital arts to teens and young adults from across the city
...inspired Youth Apprentices and interns to create:
• more than 70 unique character designs
• 6 works of public art
• 1 printed guidebook
• 1 documentary film
• more than a dozen PSA posters and ad campaigns
...served 873 students in 9 In-School programs with 6 partners in Manhattan and The Bronx
...reached 212 students with 6 partner organizations through 7 Out-of-School-Time programs in Manhattan
...connected nearly 600 young people and their family members through 8 Community Artmaking events in Harlem, El Barrio, Inwood, and Washington Heights
94% of our high school students and Youth Apprentices reported that they persisted through and completed tasks despite setbacks
Youth Apprentices painting a series of paintings intended to create a sense of peace and serenity in a waiting room at Kings County Family Courthouse
Creative Workforce Development
In FY 2025, CAW Interns and Youth Apprentices developed new artistic and technical skills, grew as leaders, collaborators, and advocates for themselves and others, and built a foundation for their future careers and creative lives.
During the 2024-25 academic year, CAW provided 228 digital artmaking internships. At four Career & Technical Education high schools, “workplace challenges” in character design or branding/marketing fulfilled work-based learning requirements through projects inspired by interns’ own entrepreneurial ideas or social issues that impact their lives. At a transfer high school, interns learned digital design creating concepts and artwork for a mural they then painted in the school’s main hallway.
A record 135 summer Youth Apprentices obtained work experience creating large-scale artwork or multimedia work. They connected with community and career options while:
• transforming a block in Harlem with a 175’ mural along the exterior wall of the Jacob H. Schiff School Campus;
• creating an interior polyptych on wood paneling to uplift families navigating the Kings County Family Courthouse;
• centering youth voice through a wraparound mural in the teen center at Grant Houses in Harlem, in partnership with the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development; or
• designing and executing a sophisticated, modular artwork on canvas commissioned by real estate firm BXP for their marketing centers.
Multimedia apprentices shined a light on the vibrant arts community of West Harlem through an oral history short film. They worked out of a pop-up studio courtesy of Innovation Triangle, a West Harlem Arts Alliance initiative activating storefronts in the Factory District, and the film premiered at The Forum at Columbia University.
Others designed a printed guidebook to the NYC Family Court system and courthouses. Developed with the support of the NYS Unified Court System’s Office for Justice Initiatives, the guide was presented before numerous dignitaries of the Court, and will serve thousands of NYC families in the years to come.
“I love the opportunity at Creative Art Works. I
consider my mural site a second home; I look forward to working there every day and seeing my colleagues. I feel like the organization has made me a better leader.”
— 2025 Summer Youth Apprentice
Terry Banks
Summer 2025 Multimedia Youth Apprentices shined a light on the vibrant arts community of West Harlem
In-School Programs
Arts education and integration programs
encouraged students to examine new information from different angles and deepened their understanding of history, social studies, literature & reading, and science & technology.
Throughout the 2024-25 school year, high school anatomy & physiology students created masks depicting nervous system responses to stress; mimicked the organic textures and movement found within human cells through watercolor; and explored identity and experience through collage.
Others examined their sense of self, their communication style, and their future trajectory through board game design and self-portraits.
Middle school social studies students dug into ancient civilizations by experimenting with stencils inspired by cave paintings; radial symmetry projects based on Tibetan sand mandalas; printmaking evoking geometry in Islamic art; and pinch pots with silhouetted illustrations as in Greco-Roman pottery.
Elementary students in literacy-based classes used pastels to illustrate themselves as one of Maurice Sendak’s “Wild Things,” depicted nighttime cityscapes inspired by Faith Ringgold’s “Tar Beach,” explored transfer drawings inspired by Harlem Renaissance artists, and expressed themselves through blackout poetry.
Students explored subjects like activism in art, surrealism, and reinterpreted medieval illustration through a modern lens. Projects included watercolors, decalcomania, cubist self-portraits, pop art, pottery, sculpture, bookmaking, contour drawing, cut paper art, map-making, and more.
“Our fourth grade group really needed the sculpture curriculum. It helped them mature. It helped them think more creatively and critically, and I think it boosted their academic achievement. I really think there’s a direct correlation, because they have the most academic growth in the school based on the midyear data.”
— Principal Charles Reilly
PS 368, The William Lynch School
A PS 368 student shows her family a work of blackout poetry she created
79% of students in grades K-8 said they had spoken to a grown up about their program outside of school
Students in the Honors Anatomy & Physiology Art Lab at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School painted self-portraits portraying physiological states
93% of our elementary and middle school students reported feeling more excited to come to school on days when they had Creative Art Works in or after school.
Students in our Storytelling and Puppetry program at PS 192 work together to decorate a Chinese dragon.
Out-of-School Time Programs
Students across the city engaged in handson, collaborative artmaking experiences that broadened their means of self-expression, enhanced their connections to school and each other, and transformed the spaces around them.
Public school K-12 students learned artmaking techniques including watercolor, crayon, and oil pastel painting; cut-paper flower techniques; textured stamp-making; Sumi ink illustrations; paper and kinetic sculpture; leaf stamps; accordion bookmaking; paper-folding techniques; and clay pottery and sculpture. Students even created puppet theaters out of shoe boxes.
Literacy-based programs aligned artmaking with English Language Arts modules, encouraging younger learners to engage more deeply with the books they were reading in school. Collaged self-portraits were inspired by Leo Lionni’s “Frederick,” and paper dolls by Arthur Dorros’s bilingual picture book “Abuela.”
High school students worked together to choose a theme, brainstorm representative symbols, colors, and words, and develop concept art for a mural to be installed within the school. The colorful, science fictioninspired final mural depicted contrasting scenes of nature and technology, invoking the school’s technology focus along with their creativity, community, and togetherness.
“Children are born into the world with thousands of ways to communicate. We meet them where they’re at and make sure to get on the ground with them, draw with them, be curious with them, and bolster those many different ways they try to teach us.”
— CAW Teaching Artist Abby Walsh
Students in an after-school program paint a mural celebrating diversity
Community Artmaking Events
We met hundreds of NYC youth and their families in the neighborhoods where they live through events and projects designed to activate public spaces and deepen community engagement.
In the past fiscal year, children (and their grown-ups!) who attended seasonal events like Community School District 4’s Backto-School Festival or New York Restoration Project’s Fall Fest celebrated a return to school and fall reading by creating mini accordion books. At events such as Hike the Heights (an annual community celebration of northern Manhattan parks) and It’s My Park Day at Montefiore Square, the creation of whimsical wearable sculptures brought public spaces to life. At PS 4 The Duke Ellington School’s Backpack Giveaway with the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, they also incorporated cultural elements and individual interests, such as music or dance.
At the NYC Department of Transportation’s annual Car-Free Earth Day, artists of all ages came together to build a collaborative sculpture from recycled materials that represented their ideal car-free city, including schools, playgrounds, ice cream shops, bike shops, a swimming pool, and public transit. At Harlem Week’s Children’s Festival, kids created kinetic sculptures incorporating unique features of the blocks on which they live, inspired by the work of Harlem Renaissance luminary Romare Bearden.
Offered in collaboration with a range of longstanding community partners, these robust workshops supported shared goals through meaningful community engagement and creative experiences.
“Community events are spaces that disrupt daily life with artmaking. When passers-by run into a table with art supplies, a few chairs, and a facilitator inviting them to make art, the neighborhood takes a necessary creative break.”
— CAW Community Artmaking Coordinator Ivory Nunez-Medrano
Young artists show off their “Madcap Heights Hats” at uptown Community Artmaking events
An
enthusiastic participant bravely begins her kinetic sculpture at the Harlem Week Children’s Festival
CAW enacts its programs through a diverse funding stream and a broad base of supporters and partners.
252
Individual donors of Board Members give 100%
21 Foundation & government grants
73 Volunteers
244 Corporate donors & sponsors
12 Program service contracts
3
Commissions of youth-created public art
55 Academic & community partners
15 In-kind donors of goods, services, & spaces
93% of our elementary and middle school students reported feeling more excited to come to school on days when they had Creative Art Works in or after school
79% of students in grades K-8 said they had spoken to a grownup about their program outside of school
96% of our students in grades K-8 said they enjoyed participating
94% of our high school students and Youth Apprentices reported that they persisted through and completed tasks despite setbacks
90% of high school students and youth apprentices reported feeling more comfortable speaking in front of a group
97% of high school students in CAW programs said they felt it was okay to make mistakes in class, a marker of resilience
FY 2025 Teaching Artists
Ivory Nunez Medrano Community Artmaking Initiatives Coordinator
Madeline De León Program Coordinator & Teaching Artist Assistant
Kibrom Gebremdhin Araya Teaching Artist
Syr-Ivan Bennett Teaching Artist
Hazza Block Teaching Artist
Dani Coca Teaching Artist
Noga Cohen Teaching Artist
Ava Dennis Teaching Artist
Stephanie Diaz Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Carlita Field-Hernandez Teaching Artist
Jonathan Hyman Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Mon Iker Teaching Artist
Clive Jacobson Teaching Artist
Joey Jiménez Teaching Artist
Micaela Jimenez Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Maham Khwaja Teaching Artist
Colleen Kong-Savage Teaching Artist
Serena Ladouceur Teaching Artist
Alejandra Mandelblum Teaching Artist
Alison Martinez Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Farah Mohammad Teaching Artist
Sofia Pujol Teaching Artist
Natalie Raskin Teaching Artist
Yotzin Reyes Teaching Artist Assistant
Becky Schuman Teaching Artist
Amrita Singh Teaching Artist
Emma Smoluchowski Teaching Artist
Abby Walsh Teaching Artist
Cass Waters Teaching Artist Assistant
Will Watson Teaching Artist
Maria Marquez Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Cristyana Navas Teaching Artist Assistant-inTraining
Board of Directors
Board Officers
Andrew Levin, Chairman Director since 1998
Brian Ricklin, President Director since 2007 Executive Director, 2010 - 2022
Gail Holcomb, Treasurer Director since 2022
Julia Sanabria, Secretary Director since 2019
Staff
Karen Jolicoeur Executive Director
Ian Newton Director of Finance & Administration
Riki Sabel Senior Program Manager |Teaching and Learning
Donna Manganello Senior Program Manager
Kevin Claiborne Program Manager
Madeline De León Program Coordinator
Board Members
Mosely Chaszar, since 1998
Lauren Cascio, since 2023
Scott Corneby, since 2023
Julian D’Ambrosi, since 2025
Osman Berke Kababulut, since 2025
Cary Levy, since 2023
John P. Maher, since 2024
Gabe Marans, since 2024
Jennifer Reddin Cassar, since 2025
Carol Rosenberg, since 2024
Steven Soutendijk, since 2016
Andrew Stern, since 2019
Tiffany Theriault, since 2022
Emilio Vides-Curnen Operations Coordinator
Ivory Nunez-Medrano Community Artmaking Initiatives Coordinator
Jill Goldstein Human Resources & Office Manager
Clair Vogel Development Manager
Scott Lucas Manager of Marketing & Communications
Paola Gonzalez Development & Communications Coordinator
Thanks for having our backs.
Thanks to you, in FY 2025, more than 2,000 young New York City residents gained essential skills, found their voice, and connected with their community through Creative Art Works.
Every student we mentored, every Youth Apprentice we employed, and every family engaged in community artmaking is a direct result of the faith and commitment of our generous donors and dedicated partners.
Whether you made a financial contribution, shared our story with a friend, attended an unveiling or gallery walk, or simply took a moment to talk to one of our young artists, your support is the foundation of our work.
We see you in every success we celebrate.
“This is my first job, and I think it has shown me the value of hard work. I’m passionate about writing and creating stories, and I think it’s really beautiful that we are helping the community by telling their story through art. I would like to be an English teacher to share that creativity with other people.”
— CAW Youth Apprentice
Widalis Marie Burgos