Tags archives: matisse foundation

  • Art for Progress Summer Arts Program 2018 Art for Progress (AFP) is pleased to announce The Pierre & Tana Matisse Foundation has awarded the organization a three year grant in support of its Summer Arts Program. After a highly successful launch of the program in 2018, the foundation requested a multi year proposal to support the program which was recently granted in May. Art for Progress will receive $52,500 to fund the program through 2021. The program was developed with the purpose of providing instruction in both music and visual arts over the summer months for students and young adults who are interested in careers in art and music. Although the focus is to provide instruction, knowledge and insight for career oriented students, the program is open to anyone interested (ages 13-24). Some of the key objectives of the program include: providing a challenging curriculum while giving students the opportunity to choose and learn skills they desirepresenting professional, engaging artists to speak to attendees about the challenges of choosing a career in artssharing information and knowledge that's typically not offered in formal school programs such as "Key Tenets for the Professional Artist."providing teaching opportunities for students who are interested in education careers The workshops will take place on four consecutive Sundays beginning July 14th (July 21st, July 28th, August 4th) from 10:30am-4:30pm. There is no cost for students and lunch wil[...]
  • This summer, thanks to a grant from the Matisse Foundation, I had the great pleasure of teaching the music portion of the Art for Progress Summer Arts & Music Program for high school students and young adults interested in pursuing creative careers. Consisting of series of four workshops held on Sunday mornings during July and August at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, the program was designed to explore the many real-world considerations inherent to careers in the arts and music. The focus was to look at some of the dynamics at play in the music and art worlds, and to provide support in the development of specific skills in the various media. Each week, a professional working in the arts was invited as a guest speaker and to host a short discussion. The speakers were happy to answer questions and were very informative and animated as they enlightened the group about the day-to-day life of a working artist. Everyone seemed to have a great time and to get a better sense of how to approach their work professionally going forward. On a personal note…I had the fantastic opportunity to study visual art in Paris while in college, and later jazz theory and improvisation, so it was auspicious to me to be able to work with the foundation representing French painter Henri Matisse, a personal favorite and early influence. Matisse was known to love American jazz music, and that added to my special sense of personal investment in this project. We at AFP are[...]
  • The art-making process is many different things to each individual. With this in mind, the goal of The Summer Music and Art Program was to facilitate an environment where art can happen as naturally as possible. We wanted participants to bring all their creative expressions to the environment so that they could use them as tools in their arsenal when creating art. Each week in the visual arts component, the main activity was based on reflection on the work of a visiting master artist. We had visits from musicians, illustrators, graphic artists, and fashion designers, all of whom presented and discussed their work with the students. In order to create an environment of an open community of artists where everyone learns from one another, we made the studios open to all. Visual artists would visit the music studio and musicians would go to the visual arts studio where sometimes they were the model for the day. Participants were introduced to new materials that became the catalysts for new problem solving experiences. Students artists were provided the instruction needed to refine their artistic and technical skills. Week One We worked from 3-D to 2-D and vice versa while developing a strong visual language that articulates perceived space.  We built sculptures and made charcoal drawings of them with tonal values. We also used layering techniques in drawings by creating shapes with different values. Students artists were impressed with what they were able to[...]