Annual Fund 2019
“Art has been pretty big in my life. I just didn’t know how to develop it. No one really knew that I was into art until artworxLA.”
— Yaretssi, artworxLA alumna, current student at Compton College and entrepreneurial embroiderer
With your renewed support, artworxLA will continue to combat the imbalance in educational and creative opportunities for L.A. youth. Thanks to supporters like you, last year artworxLA provided arts education programming, paid internships and scholarships to over 1,000 alternative high school students throughout Los Angeles County. With a gift of $500 or more today, you can help us build a blueprint of creative pathways.
Consider our recent alumna Yaretssi. Teaching Artists like Roderick Smith and Lluvia Higuera introduced her to a variety of new experiences, including drawing, photography, music production, and first-time visits to cultural landmarks, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Natural History Museum. Rekindling her childhood passion for embroidery, Yaretssi began to use her creative skills to auction and sell her work. She graduated high school this year and continues her creative pathway at Compton College. Of her experience, Yaretssi shared, “Art has been pretty big in my life. I just didn’t know how to develop it. No one really knew that I was into art until artworxLA.”
artworxLA is dedicated to alternative high school students like Yaretssi and develops their creative career skills while earning their diploma. We remain a distinctive arts education organization that offers students in continuation high schools and juvenile halls and camps equitable access to arts education, creative career pathways, paid internships, job readiness, and creative opportunities.
This year, we aim to raise $65,000 by December 31, 2019 to support impactful arts education programs at 32 high school classrooms across L.A. County during the 2019/20 school year. Your contribution will support this year’s programming which was created in partnership with the Skirball Cultural Center, The Fowler at UCLA as well as UCLA Art and Global Health Center, and Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College.
Let’s help each other and be a part of the transformation of our students and our communities!
Alumni Stories
Yaretssi
After completing her foundation level workshop, Yaretssi continued to participate in our advanced level programs in music production and other artistic disciplines, including architecture and sculpture. In 2018, she supported artist Kristy Sandoval on a mural in the Historic Central Avenue District of South Central Los Angeles and served on artworxLA's Board of Directors as our Student Representative. After grad-uating in 2019, Yaretssi enrolled in Comp-ton College and is currently completing coursework there. Passionate about the arts, Yaretssi has also rediscovered her love for embroidery, a tradition passed down by her grandmother. She is often inspired to interpret icons, such as Frida Kahlo and the Beatles, in her work. After suc-cesses in several auctions coordinated by artworxLA, Yaretssi wants to continue to sell her embroidery on line through a website she is developing.
Gabriel
Gabriel participated in a variety of classroom workshops at artworxLA, and an after-school residency in theater sparked his love of film. artworxLA staff helped him apply for and secure a scholarship to a Saturday program at ArtCenter College of Design, where he explored narratives, plots, and character development. Motivated, challenged, and engaged, Gabriel not only graduated from high school - he went on to earn an A.A. from Pasadena City College and a B.A. in Post-Production Editing and Filmmaking from Cal State Northridge. Since then, his career has spanned from ful I-time Office Manager at artworxLA to Media Manager at Viacom to currently as a freelancer at Strike Anywhere Films.
Teaching Artist Stories
"In my workshops, I have witnessed students become comfortable with change and discovery as well as embrace with excitement the unknown."
— Roderick, artworxLA Teaching Artist since 2011 | Professional artist and drawing instructor for over 40 years
Roderick
Immediately upon joining artworxLA as a Teaching Artist, Roderick Smith was struck by the tenacity of his students as they embarked on a guided journey in art. His approach in the classroom has emphasized the importance of one-on-one engagement and continuous activity. Roderick has observed that when hands are moving in creative action natural resistances seem to soften, allowing students to engage in the moment. He works to create these quiet moments so that students have a space to learn and hear a language from another world.
"Teaching art and photography in museums and non-profits has shaped the way I see photography and how I want to contribute to the medium."
—Lluvia, artworxLA Teaching Artist since 2008 I Professional photographer
Lluvia
Native Angeleno Lluvia Higuera is an accomplished photographer with a subtle point of view that comes from getting to know the people she captures - not as subjects, but as portions of the world itself. While she credits her education at ArtCenter College of Design with establishing her technical and aesthetic sensibilities, Lluvia has worked throughout the years to develop deeper connections that help her tell the sto-ries she cares about - including the connections she creates with our students. She incorporates her Teaching Artist work as part of her practice, and has been with artworxLA for 9 years at both the Hollywood Media Arts Academy and now at the Design and Media Arts Academy