Projects | Selfless

It Starts with a Crayon: How an Artist is Giving Back to the Kids of Chicago

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Elisha • 0 Comments

PhilARThropy featured artist, Bobby Reys & his art supply drive

We as individuals and as artists can really make an impact on peoples lives. As a kid, I remember getting a fresh new box of crayons and that was one of the best parts of starting the school year for me. Looking back at it now, that box of crayons opened up a whole world of possibilities and that’s what I believe we can all do – open up a whole new world for a young child with art. – Bobby Reys

The PhilARThropy mission has always been to prompt the visual and performing art community to use their talents to give back. Bobby Reys, a PhilARThropy featured artist, is living up to that mantra with his latest project. Aside from creating Chicago-inspired apparel with Lions & Reys, Bobby is now giving back by way of an art supply drive. He has teamed up with Happy Art Center, a South Chicago art center promoting art education to local, impoverished schools and together, they have been getting a lot of attention from Chicago artists looking to help as well as the community itself.

The Happy Art Center’s efforts are geared more towards elementary school kids and their wish list of new or gently used art supplies definitely reflects that Crayola markers, paintbrushes, construction paper and more make up a decent portion of what they hope collect. Bobby has been working to spread the word about these efforts in the last month, so I felt lucky that he stopped for a moment to chat with Selfless about his inspirations and goals for this drive. Here’s what he had to say:

E: Why the Happy Art Center? How did you come upon choosing them?
B: I just asked around to see if anyone could point me in the right direction as far as finding schools & programs. After some researching, I came across Happy Art Center. I really liked their mission statement and what they were trying to accomplish. They are providing a safe haven for kids to grow not only as artists, but as individuals as well. I knew this was going to be the place that I wanted to help out.

E: What made you want to put together an art supply drive?
B: This was something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite awhile now. My parents always emphasized how we should try help out others as much as possible. No matter how big or small the gesture, it has the potential to impact someone it a very positive way. I just felt that at this point in my life, it was perfect time to start a project like this. With so many schools shutting down and so many being underfunded, it’s always the art & music programs that are first to go. I was fortunate enough growing up that I was able to have an art program that had the resources to have art supplies. There are kids nowadays who don’t have a chance to have an art program and if they do, they may not have the basic supplies to create. To me, that is just sad because I can honestly say that I’d be nowhere without art. I believe that every kid should have the right to contribute art to the world and I just want to help out so they can do that.

E: Any other people helping you with this project you want to give a shout out to?
B: I’ve been getting emails, phone calls, and people reaching out to me via social networks all willing to help out. I mean I’m getting support from everyone it seems like. Family, friends, strangers, people from Chicago and from people out of state. I just want everyone to know that all the help and support I’m receiving is definitely appreciated, it’s because of them we are able to do something good for kids.

Bobby will be collecting new or gently used art supplies until May 1st. He is working on securing some drop-off options in the future, but if you’re willing to donate in the meantime, here are a couple options:
Via mail: P.O. BOX 408850 Chicago IL, 60640
Via pick-up: E-mail Bobby directly here

Filed Under: Featured Artists, PhilARThropy, Projects, Selfless

40 Artists, 40 Cities, 1 Goal: Making Art for Social Good

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Elisha • 0 Comments

You and Who – Buy a shirt, Give a shirt to someone in need

Creating art for good.

That’s the core mission of PhilARThropy. The journey of advocating Selfless, creative ways to give back to the community through visual and performing arts. Ever since the concept launched back in December 2011, it has been a fun ride connecting with other artists across the nation, hearing their stories of WHY they create, WHO they create for and what exactly INSPIRED them to do so. What’s even more thrilling is actually witnessing collaborations blooming between artists and see that ripple effect of empowerment in action as it lures other artists to do the same.

It’s art with impact. And that’s what I discovered with You and Who. I was introduced to this organization by an old college classmate (who happens to be one of our featured artists). Their goals were as simple as it could get: creating one-of-a-kind t-shirts, selling these products for good, and donating a shirt to somebody in need. Giving back by this one-for-one strategy, You and Who provides wearable art that helps promote the established artist and also clothing for a person who has so little. That’s a lot of smiles you’re creating!

Elisha’s “Chi-Town” You & Who City Pride design for Chicago

With that said, I was very excited when Dan Gigante, the big thinker behind You and Who, approached PhilARThropy about participating in this year’s City Pride apparel line. 40 artists of 40 different cities across the nation got together as a creative community to produce artwork best representing the city they resided in. Being a Chicago girl who falls in love with her city every time she’s galavanting downtown on “artventures” - this was an opportunity that could not be turned down.

I’m going to be honest with you guys…coming up with a design that best represented Chicago was tough. After a ton of research and doodling, I definitely wanted to create something polar opposite of your typical Chicago skyline – something that spoke the Chicago slang. So, “Chi-town” it was. And by experimenting with the CTA train map design and adding a little typographic twist, the artwork arrived naturally. Whew!

So who gets a shirt if I buy the Chicago tee? Purchasing a Chicago tee would benefit the Lincoln Park Community Shelter - where the Selfless team hosted a Thanksgiving breakfast back in November with several other fabulous volunteers. You and Who have also provided the option for consumers to donate a nourishing meal for those in need. How cool is that?

I’m very honored to have created artwork for a good cause, especially for the city I call my home. Consider this my belated 176th birthday present to you, Chicago. My heart will always be with this city and it’s amazing people. And many thanks to all of the other artists who designed a City Pride tee for their city – hopefully one day we’ll all meet!

Keep being Selfless and creative, everyone! Onward!

Filed Under: PhilARThropy, Projects, Selfless

Spotted: Threadless Helps Flood Relief in the Philippines

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

Threadless tee to help flood relief in Philippines

As you may have already heard, the beginning of August brought natural disaster for those in Manila, Philippines due to Tropical Storm Haikui. The massive floods had more than 850,000 people having to evacuate their homes and about 250,000 people had to travel to emergency shelters. These unfortunate circumstances, especially those due to Mother Nature, can’t really be prevented.

With my own family members living in Manila, phone calls were at high trying to make sure our family was moved to safety. I could not even imagine how it feels having to lose everything – your home, pets and just the comfort of your own bed. Sometimes, I can admit, I feel helpless being miles away to really DO something about it, but after looking through my instagr.am, a speck of hope was restored.

Even being miles away in the states, it’s humbling to hear that the Filipino community has reached out to Threadless to create art to help. It aligns with the main goal of our creative campaign, philARThropy, in using one’s creativity to help those in need.

Some of the long-time Threadless filipino artists, AJ Dimarucot and Feanne collaborated together to create a meaningful t-shirt design whose proceeds would benefit the Architecture for Humanity’s Philippines Floods Response Program. The design was named “Bayanihan,” which is a Filipino word representing a community coming together as a family for the greater good.

Kudos to these artists and Threadless for their efforts to help out the Philippines!
To read more about the design concept, the artists give the backstory here.
To make your Bayanihan t-shirt purchase, click here

And as always, if you have anything Selfless you “spot” in the real world, shoot us an e-mail at info@iamselfless.org and we’ll be sure to post it on our site!.

Bayanihan

Filed Under: PhilARThropy, Projects, Selfless, Spotted

Spotted: Arts & Crafts to help out the children of Hephzibah

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

So during my daily coffee stops at the local Oak Park Starbucks, I spotted a flyer on the community bulletin board posted by Hephzibah Children’s Association, a child welfare agency offering a variety of social services to children and families such as foster care. I’ve been familiar with this organization while working at the Wednesday Journal – the Oak Park/River Forest suburban newspaper – as they have been advertising with us for several years.

I have been fortunate enough to be raised by two parents in a home not too far from Oak Park and I try to keep that in mind whenever I come across associations like Hephzibah, whose employees and volunteers dedicate their time and efforts to provide safety and care to vulnerable children.

Throughout July, the Day Care children have been painting wooden birdhouses that will be put out on display at the Green Home Experts center and up for sale to help raise money for Hephzibah. I love the fact that there are folks out there who try to place kids in an arts and crafts environment. Imagination and creativity are a child’s way to experiment and explore the world.

Join Hephzibah for the Everyone Needs a Home reception where they will be unveiling these crafted birdhouses. The event will take place Thursday, August 9th, from 7pm-9pm at Green Home Experts (811 South Blvd. Oak Park). Arts and crafts made by the children of Hephzibah themselves – now that’s art with meaning.

For more information, please check out their website at www.hephzibahhome.org.

And as always, if you have anything Selfless you “spot” in the real world, shoot us an e-mail at info@iamselfless.org and we’ll be sure to post it on our site!

Filed Under: PhilARThropy, Projects, Selfless, Spotted

Chicago Design Museum | An ephemeral beauty bringing the art community together

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

Chicago Design Museum

Design. Art. Typography. Adobe. Say these four words to a designer, and you’ll see their eyes light right up. And this past June, all four were jam packed in a 30-day ‘pop up’ museum right here in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.

The idea for this exhibition was a collaboration between Tanner Woodford and Mark Dudlik with the sole purpose to bring the creative community together for an intimate experience. Featuring a large range of works by Debbie Millman, Ed Fella, Alexander Rodchenko as well as a close up look to the design history of IBM and storefront painting, the design museum most certainly achieved what they set out to do.

What I admire most about CHIDM and the minds behind it, is that the museum is not your traditional one. It’s ephemeral qualities makes it out to be more of a celebration of the arts. It’s ability to ‘pop-up’ anywhere makes it that much more exciting. You can view it as a ‘design museum’ tour similar to a touring of a band…makes you wonder what city the CHIDM crew is heading to next!

I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek behind the scenes of hard work put into the exhibit. With over 1,000 attendees buzzing throughout the space at the opening reception, I could tell this was a very passionate project that was greatly appreciated. The works presented here most definitely set off creative jolts for artists. CHIDM has caused the Chicago creative community feeling inspired, speechless and yearning for more.

We’ve found CHIDM to be a great example of the heartfelt art projects philARThropy strives to find. This 30-day exhibition contributed to the art community with beautiful works, a speakers series and even an Adobe seminar for professionals and students. By bridging that gap to connect designers around Chicago and beyond, CHIDM greatly achieved what we at Selfless/philARThropy wholeheartedly believe in – collaborative efforts being the root of bringing together a community to inspire, inform and share the stories behind each artist. Congrats to the team once again!

Today, June 29th is actually the last day this exhibition is open for the summer season so be sure to stop by and take a look! Chicago Design Museum is located at 700 N. Sacramento Suite #201 from 12pm-8pm.

Filed Under: PhilARThropy, Projects

06.13.12 Bats for Cats | A Drink & Draw art auction benefiting The Wildcat Sanctuary

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

Bats for Cats

Thanks to social networking websites and friends who know me as the ‘art lady,’ I was informed of a unique drawing event on Wednesday, June 13th, 2012 that would benefit The Wildcat Sanctuary - a Minnesota-based non-profit facility aimed to provide sanctuary to wild cats in need and to end private ownership of exotic animals.

Talented Chicago artists are joining forces to created Batman themed drawings up for auction. Dubbed the clever name, “Bats for Cats,” this drink and draw affair hosted by the Northdown Cafe & Taproom is one of the many wildlife events this neighborhood cafe is having. They have also dedicated a beer raffle day on June 19th to raise at least $5,00 which would feed two tigers for a year. You can read more here

Once again, it’s great to see the local community come together for causes, even for animals – the ones who really have nobody to speak for them. As an animal lover myself (and a pure Batman fan), I support this event and Northdown’s efforts wholeheartedly!

To find more information about the June 13th drink and draw event, visit the facebook event page.

Filed Under: PhilARThropy, Projects, Selfless

Pawn Works: Youth & Arts Education endeavors

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

The Hinsdale Center for The Arts had invited us out as guest speakers alongside Chicago based Sculptor, Niema Quershi and street-artist Don’t Fret to be a part of the hosted workshop for The West Suburban Art Conference of High Schools here in Illinois. The conference hosted select art students from multiple high schools throughout Chicago’s western suburbs. With sponsorship and support from Sharpie and Dick Blick art suppliers we were invited to create a sticker workshop and discuss, briefly the history of the sticker and more importantly, our sticker history and love affair with the medium. Thanks to the supplies from the sponsors, the students created their own stickers which were compiled into an over-sized collage upon their completion.

Each speaker hosted their own brief workshop as the classes were split into two groups. With the artisttic support of Don’t Fret, we were able to engage the students in a hands-on, seemingly alternative, art assignment meant to touch on current aspects of contemporary art and even more so on one we both are deeply involved in. The students were all very open to the workshops, some with sketchbooks prepared, even toting their own sticker books/collections in many cases and others free handing away on the supplied slaps. The students were fully engaged throughout the entire workshop as their previous knowledge of the medium and artists who work within the medium helped us to all be on the same page, in one way or another.

“Children are color-blind and still free of all the complications, greed and hatred that will slowly be instilled in them through life.”—Keith Haring

As a part of our new year, at Pawn Works, we plan to focus more events around the youth and based in Arts Education and looking to not just limit the project to Chicago, we are also hoping that this opportunity in Savannah,GA will open up more doors for similar projects here in Chicago and more importantly with Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

The goal is to work with challenged artists (graffiti artists, street artists, to give back to their communities and possibly even work off community service hours that they’ve earned for illegally doing their work on the street).

We created two stencil workshops (one for each school) where the kids made stencils of what veer they want that were then used as part of the mural itself which allows for the students to be a part of the mural which will be up in the respective schools indefinitely. We held a Saturday pizza and mural painting party with the at-risk students of Hubert Middle School in Savannah, GA, the student teachers from Savannah College of Art & Design and Education Alive! and the guest of honor, Chicago’s Nice-One.

Hubert Middle School | Savannah, GA

We recently did some work with the Savannah Chatham County School District and an organization known as, Education Alive! this month to create interactive student workshops based around the completion of a mural done by Chicago street-artist Nice-One and the at risk youth of two schools located in the Savannah Chatham County School District in Georgia.

Pawn Works (Chicago) joined the Savannah-Chatham County Schools and the youth arts education organization, Education Alive! with their on-going Mural project taken place from 2/14-2/19 in Savannah-Chatham County in Savannah, Georgia.

Inspired by Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Project (MAP), we are planning a series of events in which we work with public artists and graffiti artists to give them new outlets in which to work with schools and communities around the country creating in-depth arts experiences. The first of these events took place last week in Savannah, Georgia. In partnership with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and Education Alive! we will be created workshops and lessons based around a mural that was completed with the students of a local high school. Savannah-Chatham County School District’s Windsor Forest High School and Education Alive! had invited us to their community to run the workshop and facilitate the mural with enigmatic Chicago street artist Nice-One. This project aims to continue the ongoing conversation between the art world and the interests of the youth and to educate and involve children in arts and in the creation of murals within their daily environment, their schools.

During our visit we also worked on a special after school ‘pizza party mural project’ with the students of the historic Hubert Middle School. This mural was part of an effort to raise awareness through the arts while spending time with the less fortunate students during the weekend and providing a fun, safe atmosphere outside the normal lines of their standard school days. Influenced by the coloring-book scribbles and lack of self-awareness within a child’s endlessly fascinating world free of inhibition and direct influence, we seek to work with the youth to make an artistic statement rejecting the conflicting racial and cultural differences that define our society. Nice-Ones eye-popping ageless and genderless iconic figures allow for the versatility of their interactions with one another and with the viewing public. His International notoriety as a street artist and vandal at the brink of change as well as his medium itself lends itself to the current interests of the youth in modern contemporary art.

We believe in the overwhelmingly positive effects of the artistic process on a person’s self-esteem and general outlook on the world. Alongside the participating schools and students, we too, seek to improve on human qualities such as, creative problem solving, responsibility and cooperation through this community based arts initiative.

Windsor Forest High School | Savannah, GA

Our contact at Windsor Forest High School was Ms. Sperry. We met Ms. Sperry, the art teacher at WFHS through the student teachers of Education Alive! thanks to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). We were with two of her classes creating stencils that were to be used in the completion of the mural by Nice-One.

We can’t begin to thank her enough as well as the rest of the administration at the school. The assistant Vice Principal totally saw the vision we had for this project, understood it and let us execute to the best of our ability free of artistic direction. What an experience, we owe a big thanks to all those who helped organize this project and of course to Nice-One for the amazing worked he did in just a few days time.

Filed Under: Projects

Have Goals

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Elisha • 0 Comments

Have Goals Milwaukee on Facebook

I created this sticker a few years ago and have made it my business to put it up all over Wisconsin. It’s all about encouraging people with a simple short message – “Have Goals.” I started noticing people were taking pictures of the sticker and talking about it online. Then a Facebook group popped up and things really got interesting. The sticker seems to attract the most interesting people and I have really enjoyed the dialogues and friendships it has opened to me.- Have Goals

Calling all artists! Join in collaboration with Have Goals on a project to benefit Milwaukee youth organizations.

The project is a “remix” of the Have Goals image. We’re asking Milwaukee artists to take the image and reinterpret it in their own style what Have Goals means to them. It could be anything: painting, photo, digital work, redraw, print, or something else entirely.

The end result will be an art book titled “Have Goals Milwaukee” which will be created to raise funds for Milwaukee youth programs. The book will include attribution for the artists who participate.

If you are interested in participating, please send your image to haveg0als@yahoo.com.

Protip: Don’t name your image “havegoals.jpg.” Provide your name, the title of your image, and how you would like to be listed. Final work should emailed as a JPG or TIFF and share the same aspect ratio (height to width) as the sticker. No sexualized images or profanity please. Have Goals alone decides on the appropriateness of the images or text for inclusion.

Many of the details are still being worked out. Currently this is planned as a self-published project but if you are or know of a local publisher who is interested in helping, please speak up.

Filed Under: Projects