Project AWE launches Young Artist Program (Y.A.P.)
“I am the mother of a fourteen year old girl who has loved drawing and painting from a very young age and was longing for formal training to broaden and sharpen her skills. I enrolled her in the Young Artists Program several months ago, and she has truly loved every moment. I have been so impressed with the care and attention my daughter’s mentor provides, along with the depth of the instruction and the range of techniques that she is learning. My daughter has grown dramatically as an artist and, more importantly, her passion for art has been ignited!”
“For our sixteen year old daughter, the Young Artist Program has been transformative. Always a talented artist, she was stuck, not only in her artwork but in her life. The teenage years can be particularly challenging for a creative, sensitive soul. Y.A.P. not only gave our daughter an understanding of her remarkable gift as an artist but also direction to maneuver her way through her troubled high school years. Our Y.A.P. mentor has an amazing ability to extract, with patience and love, a student’s creative core. We feel blessed to have found Y.A.P.”
Y.A.P. IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOUNG ARTISTS FIND THEIR VOICE OF CONFIDENCE AND TRANSITION FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO ART COLLEGE.
Y.A.P is dedicated supporting talented young artists from low income FAMILIEs by reaching out to PHILANTHROPIC organizations for financial aid.
With customized one-on-one mentor weekly meetings, students work to develop their skills, concepts, and self-expression in an artist studio environment. In addition, this program offers guided museum visits to connect the students to their cultural heritage and expand their art history knowledge.
In partnership with a select prestigious gallery in Los Angeles, Y.A.P. co-hosts an annual exhibition featuring the work created in the program.
Y.A.P. creates a support system for young talent and aims to raise scholarship funds helping the students transition to Art College - making it possible for their dreams to become a career.
Young Artists Program (Y.A.P.) museum guided visit
“My son Josh was always drawn to pictures, and doodled on his classwork and homework. Shortly before his 14th birthday he decided he wanted to become an animator. We began looking into what art schools sought after in their applicants. We realized we wouldn’t be able to accomplish meeting the requirements on our own. Josh needed a proper teacher - a mentor. We first heard of project AWE from a friend who highly recommended the program. It sounded perfect, and when Josh was awarded a full merit-based scholarship we made the commitment. Josh’s sessions included both studio and Getty museum guided visits. Project Awe was exactly what Josh needed and through this mentorship Josh’s skills and confidence increased dramatically.
When it came time to apply to college, project AWE provided my son with letters of recommendation, and our mentor was the first person we called when he got his acceptance letters. Two weeks ago, Joshua began his freshman year at Otis College of Art and Design where he was the recipient of a Presidential Scholarship - awarded to the top 10% of portfolios. Josh hopes that at some point he’ll be able to give back to another student through project AWE.”
student profiles:
joshua martin
scholarship ARTIST AT Y.A.P.
“Art is a platform for an individual to express their thoughts, feelings, and reflect deeply on the world and the surrounding elements. I find inspiration in the forms of the human body, the visions of mythical creatures, and the palette of sunsets. My creative process is fueled by the subjects of life and death, the surface of metal, and the history of fashion and warfare. For me, art is a way to ask questions about who we are, the nature of the human-animal, society rules, and politics. I see a link between Artists through time: from old Masters to students such as myself. ”
HANNAH DREW: A 17-YEAR OLD ARTIST AT Y.A.P.
Hannah came to the Young Artists Program (Y.A.P.) studio when she was just sixteen years old. Even from first glance you could tell that Hannah had a precious ability of transferring her careful observations into beautiful lines. At project AWE we knew that with some structure and gentle guidance Hannah would mature fast into a confident young artist. Our goal was to provide Hannah with necessary tools while working on developing her individual voice. In between studio sessions, we visited museums to view old Master paintings. Hanna’s portrait of a Rabbi shows her successful integration of everything she learned in the last few months at the Y.A.P. studio while clearly making it her own. This pensive portrait is full of profound observations. Currently, Hannah is working on her first exhibition that will be made possible through Y.A.P. at project AWE.
Y.A.P. IS UNIQUELY DESIGNED TO GIVE A PLATFORM SUPPORTING VOICES OF YOUNG TALENT.
WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM OUR YOUNG ARTIST IN THE PROGRAM HANNAH DREW DIRECTLY:
What is an artist?
“An artist is someone who looks at society, human tendencies and experiences and presents their discoveries in a way that affects people. It's a form of self-expression that engages you, on numerous levels. I believe only recently have I began to create art. I have only scratched the surface of self-discovery and expression through creation.”
Why do you paint?
“Painting allows me to create a world that I can be both present in and as an observer. It suspends a subject in time allowing me, the artist, the freedom and ability to create a description of that moment using color, texture, line, and shape. For me, the creation of the piece is more important than the final product. In other words, the act of painting allows me to work through problems, explore my emotions, and ultimately create a narrative that is very personal.”
What do you like to paint and why?
“People are my favorite subjects to paint. Using a human as the subject fashions a space to create this relationship of emotional intimacy with the painting. It allows me to truly put my thoughts and feelings in the work.”
What is your biggest dream as an artist?
“My dream is to create a piece of artwork that is able to unite those of different ethnicity, religion, and economic class. I hope to one day create something that touches people on a level that words and photos cannot.”
What is your advice to young artists?
“I’d like to use my favorite quote from Aristotle: “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
FOR INQUIRIES ABOUT ENROLLMENT PLEASE FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FORM:
Image, top of the page: Rembrandt van Rijn, The Artist in his Studio (detail), 1628. Oil on panel, 24.8 x 31.7cm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
