Summer Night Lights

Sponsored by Piece by Piece, I was a community educator for the Summer Night Lights program this summer, made possible in part by a grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs and the L.A. Mayor's Gang Reduction and Youth Development program. This 8-week initiative turns up the lights in high-risk areas of Los Angeles, providing free food, sports programs, arts and other activities to involve youth during the most dangerous hours of the summer.

We had over 50 people every Saturday night, from as young as 4 years old to 84 years old. Every week we worked on a different project, developing skills with more complex designs as the weeks progressed. In addition to individual projects, we also created group projects, a series of symbols of peace.

More information can be found here: Summer Night Lights

This was an amazing experience, bringing together not just those in the community, but the many artists who volunteered their time to help make this a success. A sincere thank you to those who helped: Luz Mack-Durini, Ivan Jimenez, Leigh Adams, Bea Jones, Marc Mendelson, Stephen Woodruff and many others.

Group Projects: Symbols of Peace

Tiles created by 3 generations: bottom -- 7 year old daughter; middle -- mother; top -- grandmother

First night project was decorative tiles.

Skateboard created by kids.

This project was funded, in part, by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Mayor's Gang Reduction and Youth Development Department.