ART & ALTRUISM

Three local artists find creative ways to make a difference

By Marisa Cioffi

COURTESY OF ART MIAMI

JASON NEWSTED,

PERRY J. COHEN FOUNDATION

Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted’s colorful rock music directly transfers from the speakers onto his canvas. He began painting in 2001 and was encouraged to pursue art by fellow Jupiter resident Nick Korniloff, director of Art Miami and stepfather of Perry Cohen, who went missing off the Jupiter inlet in 2015. Newsted exhibited at a handful of Art Miami fairs in 2017 and 2018, as well as at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales to support the Perry J. Cohen Foundation’s mission to advance the arts, environmental education and preservation, teenage entrepreneurship, and boating safety education. He continues to use his artistic voice to raise awareness and donate to the foundation. “Only you can sing your song,” he says. “Only you have your voice.” (pjcf.org)

MARY FISHER,

100 GOOD DEEDS BRACELET

When artist Mary Fisher went public with her HIV diagnosis at the 1992

Republican National Convention, she became the voice for those who didn’t dare to speak out. Today, her life is a balance of activism and art. She spent nearly a decade partnering on a jewelry line with vulnerable African women who had been affected by HIV before she met filmmaker Thomas Morgan, who created the 100 Good Deeds game.

A good deed means you’ve gone out of your way to help someone and only counts if the deed is anonymous. Feeling inspired, Fisher designed the 100 Good Deeds bracelet as a call to do good deeds and empower women. She says, “It’s satisfying to know that the bracelet, when used by its wearers to count their good deeds, has encouraged more than a million acts of kindness and care.” (100gooddeeds.org)

Moving the marker on the bracelet ($30 each) signifies a good deed done.

JOSE PICAYO

ANTHONY HERNANDEZ,

VITA NOVA YOUTH HOMELESS CENTER

MONIQUE CLASSEN Most homeless shelters look like just that. Vita Nova, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide safe housing for homeless youth, is working to change that social stigma. The Spot, a West Palm Beach drop-in center for homeless youth ages 18 to 25, opened last June with the goal of eliminating homelessness. With giant superhero murals painted by South Florida artist Anthony Hernandez, The Spot is enticing youth to begin receiving services such as vulnerability assessments and training related to housing, health care, employment, and education. Hernandez, whose murals can be seen throughout West Palm Beach, is passionate about art, which was his way of keeping calm as a child. “This project is about beautifying an area and it’s breaking that certain stigma,” he says. “I really hope it becomes an asset to Vita Nova.” (vitanovainc.org)