NEW YORK—Students from public schools in all five boroughs of New York City gathered at Union Square Park on Thursday to speak out on social issues through their art.
Ten colorful tables were displayed on the first sunny day of the week, one per school, and two from each borough. The event marks the fourth annual Learning through an Expanded Arts Program (LeAp) and NYC Parks & Recreation collaboration.
“You have made history,” said Adrian Benepe, commissioner for the NYC Parks & Recreation Department. “This is the largest student school exhibit in the history of New York City Parks Department, and the first to be in all five boroughs.”
“There is no better place to kick off this annual, socially minded exhibit than in Union Square Park, where New Yorkers have been broadcasting their ideas for over a century,” Benepe said. “The students’ thought provoking artwork is sure to enliven the city’s parks and raise awareness on the issues that are most important to them.”
The installation, titled “A View from the Lunchroom: Students Bringing Issues to the Table,” will be on display through August. Throughout the next month, the tables will be moved back to their respective boroughs, in 10 different community parks where anyone will be able to use them.
Each of the lunch tables—painted and lacquered—dealt with a different social issue. The Island School 188M in Manhattan took a stance against domestic violence in their “Choose Your Path” piece, and 53K portrayed good and evil in the world, urging their community to be positive.
Ten colorful tables were displayed on the first sunny day of the week, one per school, and two from each borough. The event marks the fourth annual Learning through an Expanded Arts Program (LeAp) and NYC Parks & Recreation collaboration.
“You have made history,” said Adrian Benepe, commissioner for the NYC Parks & Recreation Department. “This is the largest student school exhibit in the history of New York City Parks Department, and the first to be in all five boroughs.”
“There is no better place to kick off this annual, socially minded exhibit than in Union Square Park, where New Yorkers have been broadcasting their ideas for over a century,” Benepe said. “The students’ thought provoking artwork is sure to enliven the city’s parks and raise awareness on the issues that are most important to them.”
The installation, titled “A View from the Lunchroom: Students Bringing Issues to the Table,” will be on display through August. Throughout the next month, the tables will be moved back to their respective boroughs, in 10 different community parks where anyone will be able to use them.
Each of the lunch tables—painted and lacquered—dealt with a different social issue. The Island School 188M in Manhattan took a stance against domestic violence in their “Choose Your Path” piece, and 53K portrayed good and evil in the world, urging their community to be positive.
“You can just feel their pride, you can feel their commitment to these tables, and the energy talking about what these tables represent,” said NYC School Chancellor Dennis Walcott.
“These issues are important to us, and through our project we are able to share these thoughts with other people as well,” said Jordan Davis, a student at Robert Randall School 373R. Their table, titled “Life In Our Community,” showed that their community could be “productive and joyful, but also fearful and chaotic at times” with many problems like violence and pollution.
“We hope that our table expresses to the world that we should stop polluting and end violence,” student Amad Daniels added. “We hope that our table will be the change that we want to see.”
The students were also joined by artists Christo and Audrey Flack, who worked with LeAp as guest speakers.
“You can exist in life, but you can’t really live without art,” said painter and sculptor Audrey Flack. She shared with the students her own experience with art growing up. “It really saved me.”
From June 7-16, LeAp, a nonprofit educational organization that works with public schools to improve arts-based curriculums, will be holding public events to open local parks in the five boroughs with the students responsible for creating each of the tables.
Other big names at the exhibition included Commissioner of NYC Cultural Affairs Kate Levin, Deputy and NYC Department of Education Visual Arts Coordinator Karen Rosner, and senior counsel to Sen. Gillibrand, Wendy Gellman.
“These issues are important to us, and through our project we are able to share these thoughts with other people as well,” said Jordan Davis, a student at Robert Randall School 373R. Their table, titled “Life In Our Community,” showed that their community could be “productive and joyful, but also fearful and chaotic at times” with many problems like violence and pollution.
“We hope that our table expresses to the world that we should stop polluting and end violence,” student Amad Daniels added. “We hope that our table will be the change that we want to see.”
The students were also joined by artists Christo and Audrey Flack, who worked with LeAp as guest speakers.
“You can exist in life, but you can’t really live without art,” said painter and sculptor Audrey Flack. She shared with the students her own experience with art growing up. “It really saved me.”
From June 7-16, LeAp, a nonprofit educational organization that works with public schools to improve arts-based curriculums, will be holding public events to open local parks in the five boroughs with the students responsible for creating each of the tables.
Other big names at the exhibition included Commissioner of NYC Cultural Affairs Kate Levin, Deputy and NYC Department of Education Visual Arts Coordinator Karen Rosner, and senior counsel to Sen. Gillibrand, Wendy Gellman.
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