Art is an amazing avenue for creativity and expression, and 30 of the 45 summer high school interns at RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity) have the opportunity to become artists-in-residence. They will be working on one of two projects.
Carolin Wood and Rachel Krieger-Garone, creative partners and cofounders of Benevolent Objects, will lead students through a project they describe as “a reflection on the notion of ‘home’ and how it intersects with the natural world. Through the process of creating a collaborative quilt, they will explore themes of belonging, identity, and place, while developing their artistic skills.”
Camila A. Morales, founder and director of Valé Ecolab, will facilitate the interns as they create murals that will capture the gifts–environmental and otherwise–of the Rockaways: plants, birds, fish, ocean, local life, turtles, community, businesses, clouds, bay, beach, sunset, sunrise….
The materials include sheets of plywood left over from a capital project at RISE and plastic bottle caps, purchased and found. The latter, sadly, are plentiful on the sands of Rockaway beaches. Pink, blue, orange, white, green, red…when photographed together, there is a beauty to the collection. But when one thinks about their singular use and their being discarded all over the peninsula, it is disturbing and sad.
One way that you can have a positive impact is to drop off your plastic bottle caps at RISE. There is a container dedicated solely to collecting them, and they will go toward something beautiful and original. And when the summer session of Shore Corps and Environmentor ends on August 12, we hope that you can see the works done by the students and share your appreciation with them.
RISE is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the summer programs are sponsored by AEO Better World Foundation, Altman Foundation, Ichigo Foundation, MetLife Foundation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Community Impact Grant, and The Pinkerton Foundation.
