NOV 2021
This Giving Tuesday, Help Hook Arts Media Forge the Way Ahead Dear Friends, I hope this finds you all well-as we face the challenges of a new school year, of going back to work in-person, of storms and fires, floods and fears of what the future might hold. As I look back on the past year, it was definitely a time we made a way out of no way and perhaps into discovering more just and equitable ways to be with and without each other. From the day we closed our doors on Friday the 13th of March 2020, our staff and teachers worked tirelessly to adapt our programs to the ever-changing conditions caused by COVID-19. We worked alongside our school partners to pivot to online instruction. Our onsite after-school media programs found creative ways students could use their phones to make films that helped them process the terrifying and lonely days of isolation and remote learning. We delivered podcasting equipment to students’ homes from one far end of the city to another. As time passed we saw new needs to support our teaching artists with the professional development that helped them restructure their classes for online learning and understand what trauma-informed pedagogy is as they navigated the emotional needs of their students. As the protests ignited by George Floyd’s tragic murder, surged, our media students processed their complicated emotional reactions through their films. Lastly, our 2021 Red Hook Fest brought the unexpected joy of Laura Anderson Barbata and the Brooklyn Jumbies to the Red Hook Houses and used the Open Culture permit to present dance, live music, and DJ-ed dance party to the streets of Red Hook. We could not have forged this path through the pandemic without your support. We serve some of the most resilient but also vulnerable students in NYC, so please continue to generously support our work providing critical, creative outlets to this next generations of changemakers. And come meet them! We are always thrilled to have you visit our programs. Read on to hear our news. With Appreciation, Laura Anderson Barbata and The Brooklyn Jumbies at 2021 Red Hook Fest by Frank Veronsky.
Martha Bowers, Executive Director
“
Without question, Hook Arts Media made a way out of no way . . . ” – Deirdre Hollman, Program Evaluator 3.8.21
Making A Way Out of No Way Young people, educators, families, and caregivers found themselves tasked with the impossible in March of 2020. Vital programs shuttered; crucial resources disappeared. Standards diminished.
In less than a week, Hook Arts Media: ● Took its programs online ● Found a way to continue to pay participants in its community-based programs ● Began sharing resources for educators, students, and families ● Kept our staff, teachers, and many students employed
Our Impact more than
more than
95%
80%
more than
more than
program engagement
60%
career & college development
truancy reduction
60%
improved time management
We all know just how important arts and media education is. We live in an economy increasingly dependent on media literacy and creativity. Arts-rich students and communities are more likely to succeed in college and career. Arts-rich young people have the skills to navigate socio-emotional challenges.
All young people deserve this crucial support Despite the difficulties of 2020 and 2021, Hook Arts Media educators and staff knew it was more important than ever to ensure that our community of students and educators got the support they needed. As restrictions ease, we reopen to a new chapter still riddled with stress and strain. Young people’s educational needs include patience and competency for the trauma borne of the past year and a half. Hook Arts Media is uniquely positioned to support young people and educators in this time and beyond; however our resources are limited. We’re proud to have made a way out of no way, but we need your help to forge ahead and serve the thousands of NYC students whose needs continue to go unaddressed in this pivotal time.
hookarts.org info@hookarts.org
From Student to Teacher: Ramisa We met Ramisa when she joined our media programs some five years ago. As a recent immigrant from Bangladesh, she was searching for a place she felt at home in this new country. According to her, she found it at Hook Arts Media and has been delighting us with her astute, funny and sometimes heartbreaking films ever since. And she has become a Tik Tok super star! We have hired her to teach in our film programs and happily follow her as she continues her studies at Brooklyn College. We are so proud of her.
“
Hook Arts Media has become my second home, where I can be myself and express my ideas freely. The environment is just amazing and peaceful. They make me feel as if my ideas are being heard and that I am being heard. I had my first job there and it has taught me so much, including job skills and social skills.” – Asma Ramisa
Red Hook Fest
After more than a year in our homes, Hook Arts Media returned to Red Hook with two weeks of performances. In an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Red Hook Fest offered smaller, more localized events but just as much fun! On Saturday, June 5th, Laura Anderson Barbata, The Brooklyn Jumbies, and Cornelio Joseph’s Drum Line led a processional through the Red Hook Houses to Coffey Park, where over a thousand participants gathered in celebration. Rajonna Lewis led a free West African Dance class in the grass while we donated free pineapples to local families.
The following week, on Saturday June 12th, the festival came to a close with vibrant music and dance performances on Richards Street. Jive Poetic DJ’d the event, which featured performances from Los Cumpleaños, LayeRhythm Jam, and Mateo Vidals featuring the choreographer, Phoebe Pfaffman, and Dahsir Hausif in partnership with Cora Dance. As we’d done the year before, Hook Arts Media also made the festival accessible to virtual audiences throughout the month. People tuned in from as far away as Texas, Greece, and even Australia. But we were most thrilled to share the experience with the vast majority of viewers who watched from the comfort of their own homes in our Brooklyn community.
We’ve Done So Much With So Little
Imagine What We Can Do With Your Support For more than 2 decades, Hook Arts Media has served New York City’s most marginalized young people. With unique, student-centered programs and unparalleled teaching artists, Hook Arts Media continues to pioneer new programs that create healthier, happier, and more engaged school cultures. As we all work to co-create a better future from the difficult lessons we’ve hard-learned in recent
With Your Gift of:
years, one thing has become crystal clear: we cannot abandon young people. In the midst of multiple crises, NYC youth deserve programming that addresses their many needs while preparing them to take agency over their futures. With your support, Hook Arts Media can extend these vital opportunities to more New York City students.
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 =
$200 we could provide more cleaning kits $500 $1,000
for our filmmaking programs we could accept another filmmaking student off the Spring waitlist we could purchase a new camera for our film students
$5,000 we could expand Digital Connections to include another Film Fellow
$10,000 we could subsidize an in-school program for an NYC public high school
STAFF executive director & founder: Martha Bowers director of education: Maria Soriano director of marketing: Heather Harvey director of media programs: Jordan Campbell workforce deveopment coach: Kenard Bunkley
Maximize Your Impact We actively fundraise just once each year, but our students’ needs don’t disappear as seasons change. Make a monthly recurring donation to support our students year-round at hookarts.org/donate. Just $25 per month can provide MTA passes for our students.
BOARD board president: Sam Sills secretary: Audrey Anastasi treasurer: Elise Bernhardt Nyeema Bailey, Christopher Brown, Martha Bowers, Corinthia Carter, Kamau Ware CONSULTANTS development: Bryony Romer finance & hr: The Lortel Foundation
2021–2022 TEACHING ARTISTS Jordan Campbell Trace dePass Cornelio Joseph Erik Maldonado Jive Poetic Asma Ramisa Justus Snyder
Hook Arts Media is extremely grateful to our many supporters, including: the Valentine Perry Snyder Fund, The Pinkerton Foundation, the Two West Foundation, the O’Connell Family Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Con Edison, Erie Basin Marine Associates, Seventh District Foundation, Investors Fund, New York Community Trust, the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the NYS Dept. of Labor, NYSCA-REDC, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the NYC Council, and NYC Council Member Carlos Menchaca as well as our individual donors.
Hook Arts Media is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all deductions are fully tax-deductible to the extent provided by the law. To make a donation by check, please make it payable to: HOOK ARTS MEDIA, INC. Enclose this insert and mail it with your check to:
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