Past projects 9
Supporting Mural Creations by Artists of Color in NYC
Funded Dec 28, 2023On behalf of my students and Andrew, thank you so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness in making this donation. My students are excited to meet new artists and create amazing works of art. Your donation helps cultivate young artists and also benefits artists of color in NYC. We are all truly grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
Supporting Mural Creations by Artists of Color in Nyc
Funded Dec 20, 2023Thank you so much for the donations that fully funded this important project! My students are very excited to work with Brandon and he has so much wisdom to share with them. With his support, we will create beautiful works of art! We are all very grateful for this opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 2 other donors.Exploring Identity and Society Through Song
Funded Oct 22, 2018Before joining MAD Academy at our school, most of us have never been to a real music studio recording session before. The experience was amazing! We got the opportunity to work with other students in a space that is dedicated to music. It's great because all the resources are there- and we felt as if we could spend hours learning how to use the software, play an instrument, or work on our songs. Everybody was truly engaged and ready to work together, and we all felt a real sense of community in being there. It felt beyond good to actually be able to make the song come to life. We worked with Ben, who has taught us a lot about music and how to write songs from a personal perspective that also feels universal so many people can relate. He makes amazing music too, so it was an honor to work with him and we are glad to work with another peer whose work we admire. Thank you all for your generous contributions. Your support helps us express ourselves and make music that can send a strong message to the world about yourselves, our identities and our shared humanity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Arts Funder and one other donor.Self and Society: Innovative Digital Storytelling of Identity Through Song
Funded Mar 12, 2018Accepting our natural talent to speak and using our words to convey a message, we came to the realization that it's both what you say and how you say it. We realized we have the power to inspire change in others, and the world as we know it for the better. We see what the future holds on a daily basis especially when our peers constantly look to us and each other for help in understanding the world around. We, as the youth, need to connect to our past and present to understand ourselves in order to make change. It the responsibility of the elders around young people to help them understand the realities of this world without sacrificing their innocence. This project has given us the experience of working closely with other artists, and it is humbling to listen to another person's truth about the world and how to positively change it. It was amazing to write from such a personal place and then to bring those words into various formats such as songs and images. Thank you for your support in this project!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
Music Brings Families Together!
Funded Nov 15, 2017The trips to Black Lodge Recording Studio in Brooklyn was an amazing experience! We have recorded there before and they have welcomed our students with open arms. This time our students got to invite special guests, friends and family to the sessions to share their music and process. Because our school is a transfer school, our students often have difficult relationships with their families. This project created a new space for families to see them in a new light- as happy, creative, successful musicians. It was really special when one mother said that she wanted to support her son but didn't understand that there were genuine opportunities in the music industry. She was so happy to see him in a professional environment working with an established producer. But it was also a surprise when she realized that music isn't just about a career. She described that she finally was able to see that music and writing lyrics are a key way for her son to express himself and connect to others. It was beautiful to see a parent see a deeper part of what music means to their kids! We will continue to make music and record for the rest of the year at Black Lodge!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by Carnegie Corporation and one other donor.Drawing for Tolerance and Self-Love
Funded Jun 18, 2017Thank you so much for making it possible for Ms. Davis to come into our space to work with our students. She's an incredible Illustrator and artist. She facilitated workshops in which students explored their own identity and how they relate to others. Understanding oneself is foundational to understanding others and thereby respecting others regardless of differences. For our students this brought up many important issues and discoveries about how they are perceived in society and how they want others to feel better about themselves. This led to drawing images and creating t-shirts that expressed their ideas. This was a powerful experience. Thanks for making it happen.
Here is a small excerpt from a student's reflection on this project. "For me promoting tolerance, that means fighting social injustices against People of Color, especially black women. Growing up as a brown girl in America, I learned at a young age what the standard of beauty is and that I didn't meet it. I had many white friends and family, and in those settings often felt ugly and inferior because I'd internalized the message that had been relayed to me through films, magazines, children's toys, etc.: Being white and thin is beautiful because it's most desirable to men, which determines a woman's worth. I want to create images and statements that empower black women and change the narrative that has victimized black and brown women."”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 2 other donors.Media Literacy and Social Change
Funded Apr 7, 2017This project resulted not only in increased student achievement and engagement in media literacy but also increased mentorship and internship opportunities (which are crucial to our school.) Ben engaged our students in high-level musicianship and performance that created amazing music. The most successful aspects of the project were...everything!! We worked with Ben in a fully-equipped professional studio. It was amazing to have studio time which allowed students the opportunity to be the center of focus and explore their musical abilities. The project as extended to our school community through various in and out of school performances and the sharing of the songs through social media on our madacademy account on Sound Cloud. Since we are an experiential learning model school this project allowed our students to truly experience real-world project management and music recording in a way few other schools can achieve. CAS students are very concerned with issues in the world and their lives and it is natural for that to be reflected in their work. It is also important that they experience leveraging their skills and talents for social good and change. We partnered with Denim Day NYC, which supports activism around issues of sexual violence and intimate justice. The students wrote and recorded two songs about relationships and the way sex is presented in the media. They were analytical in looking at messages in music. But the real excitement and growth is to be able to make high quality music with a clear message, thereby becoming part of shaping the conversation. They shift from consumers of media to content creators. They learned to speak out and use their craft to affect change in the world. This project gave students a chance to be validated in creating their music and we will continue to write songs, record and perform.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by News Corp and 4 other donors.Triumpf World
Funded Oct 11, 2016Our class wants to thank you for your generous donations to Triumpf World. Working with Ben Julia and his colleagues has been a very humbling and learning experience- perhaps one of the best learning experience we have had with music. We escaped our comfort zone and collaborated on projects. Our mentors weren't like teachers but more like coworkers. We are forever grateful for this experience. We got to write and record songs with fellow students with actual professionals from the industry in a professional studio.
We got to work in a professional situation for fee which is something youth don't usually have and is inaccessible to our people our age. It's cool to have access to equipment we don't usually have to use because it improves the quality of our work. Being a teenager and in NYC is hard because you are in such a saturated scene but also surrounded by the best of art and music so it can be overwhelming to figure out where we fit in. Triumpf World gave us the introductions we needed to both people and professional spaces to create high quality work and move towards establishing ourselves.
At City-As-School and our work with Triumpf World, we can play the music we want, write the songs we want, and have professionals say it's good. This gives us hope for our futures as musicians and artists. We found it a really productive time because we had individual support and insight into the craft. It is great to feel that people believe in us and our visions. This experience shows us that it's possible to pursue this either as a paid career and- as importantly- for our own creative drive. While it is great to learn the ways to make money, the world needs artists and musicians so our role is important in the world. This program also gives us as students the freedom to be who we are and say what we think and feel. That seems so rare in schools today. We are lucky to go to City-As-School and that we get to have visitors and trips like this. One thing that we will carry with us forward is the confidence to express ourselves while also doing better academically in school.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by Ashoka & Think It Up Supporters and 7 other donors.Partnering with Design Experts in NYC
Funded Mar 9, 2016Getting to work with fashion designer, Dee Jackson, of Dee and Ricky has been one of the highlights of our time at City-As-School. Dee was fun and informative and we all hope he is a connection we will be able to keep in the future. Working with Dee was a new experience and it was amazing to see how he worked and how to run a name brand company and collection. He taught us about sewing and making clothing but also how to approach designing and to take risks.
Many of us got to model our own outfits at the youth designer show for Fashion Week Brooklyn (FWBK,) which is not something most people our age can say. Working at the fashion show was crazy but honestly not everyone can do it or get that chance so we are grateful we got to do it. The fashion show is hectic behind the scenes but as soon as you up there on the stage everything is simple. This experience has been wonderful and we wouldn't trade it for anything. Some of us had no prior experience in fashion design so being allowed the opportunity to work so closely with a professional and display our work has proved to be an invaluable educational experience. We also got to make clothes for Denim Day NYC which is a day activism to promote awareness of sexual violence. It was powerful to see how we can use our talents and skills in design to speak out about important social justice issues.
He has given us access to some of the resources we need to start our own lines and collections as well as careers within the creative industry. It was fun to have a new mentor and that he is a part of the NYC art and fashion scene that many of us want to join. He told us about his life starting as a designer when he was in high school and how he took things he loved like Legos and made them into fashion accessories. He showed us that you can bring your own style and perspective to anything and make it successful. We also learned that you have to work hard to make things. It was longer and harder than we thought but once we started our designs, we didn't want to stop until it was finished. We learned a lot about working together because many of us worked in teams. It was cool to find a partner with a similar vision and then work together. Dee and Ricky were an inspiration in collaboration because they are brothers who work together. It's necessary in the design process to have other voices and eyes give feedback and support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Krajewski
This classroom project was brought to life by Ashoka & Think It Up Supporters and 4 other donors.