Anne Marie D’Agostino, a fine arts teacher at Jane Addams Middle School in Lawndale and a friend of the organization, shares the story of a student who participated in the 2nd Annual Graffiti Art Project sponsored by P.S. ARTS board member Sharon Blair. Through this contest, Anne Marie learns of her student’s struggles at home and sees firsthand the impact that involvement in the arts can have on a child’s life.
Earlier this year, the artwork of a student of mine, “Matt,” (we have changed his name for the sake of this story to protect his privacy) was featured in the annual Graffiti Art Project. What I didn’t know at the time was that while Matt was creating his visual art piece, he and his mom had become homeless.
The Graffiti Art Project is a contest sponsored by P.S. ARTS board member Sharon Blair that gives children throughout Los Angeles County the opportunity to submit their artwork to be displayed at a weekend exhibition event. There is also a chance for the students to win monetary prizes should their artwork be selected as a top finalist in the contest.
If you ever have the chance to check out this event, I strongly encourage you to do so. It’s amazing to see the artwork that some of these children have created. The detail and thoughtfulness is really impressive. It’s clear these children put a lot of heart and soul into these projects.
Which is where Matt comes in.
Matt did not win the art contest, but after the exhibition, I kept his art along with some of the other students’ projects in hopes that they may still get sold. I gave the pieces to Sharon to display at a few other P.S. ARTS events as well as at her studio. If the pieces were sold from being on display at these venues, students would still receive the money from their sale.
Matt would call me every week to ask if his piece had sold. Matt had dedicated a lot of time to his project, and it was clear it meant a lot to him. He took a lot of pride in what he created, and every time he called, he sounded hopeful that someone would be inspired to purchase this piece he had worked so hard on.
Finally, a few months later, his project sold for $350 to someone who saw the sensitivity in his work. He was thrilled.
Matt mentioned to me he had never been school shopping before, so we decided that’s what he should do with his hard-earned money. We spent that Saturday together shopping and gathering necessities for Matt. I don’t think I have ever seen a kid smile so much in my life. He bought brand new shoes, which was a thrill. Up until then, he had worn shoes that were two sizes too big because they were all he had. We also bought him a pillow, which he also had never had before. After we were done, he saved some of the money to give to his mom.
I had no idea that Matt was in the situation he was in until the Graffiti Art Project. We work with these children every day, but we don’t always know the circumstances of their lives outside the safe confines of the schoolyard. I now understood why Matt had worked so hard on something so important to him – it was so he could provide for himself and help out his mom. Art gives us so many things: the ability to see things in a new way, to empathize, and to express, among others. In Matt’s case, it gave him even more. A new pair of shoes, a pillow, and most importantly: hope.
Later that year I remember looking at Matt and he was all cleaned up and smiling – something I hadn’t seen him do in a longtime. He was glowing and wearing his brand new right-sized red suede skater style shoes.
Today, Matt and his mom are living in Long Beach and working to create a better life for themselves. I am so thankful the Graffiti Art Project showed Matt he is capable of creating something meaningful to help improve his circumstances.
So many children in the communities we work with are in similar situations to Matt. If art can show them they are capable of something more, then that’s a great start.
