Artward Initiative 501 (c) (3) non-profit: Our Love My Neighbor

For the United Against Hate Week we are conducting the Love My Neighbor - United Against Hate Kids Art Contest Carson with outreach to "Scottsdale" neighborhood of Carson, Carson Sherriff's Station Gang Diversion Team and children of Carson Muslim community.

The contest format provided us with ability for our team to conduct outreach events to tell the kids about importance to confront hate, about LA vs Hate and United Against Hate Week and to offer kids an opportunity through their own art to build ties with their diverse neighbors and confront hate.

We developed our free art kits for the kids contest and we created all our flyers, instructions and materials for them with Love My Neighbor - United Against Hate Week theme. The wining contestants will get monetary prizes for their artworks including a new Grand Prize to kids who would be able to go, meet their neighbor with the background different than theirs, whether ethnic, religious or cultural, learn something from them and create any art based on what they learned. A difficult task, but would be amazing to see if some kids would really do it

We had outreach events with Carson Gang Diversion Team and their youth as well as the youth of our great friends from International Institute of Tolerance.

Summary of Core Organizational Programs and Services

Artward Initiative, a 501 c(3) non profit organization, organizes and conducts cultural and educational projects, public art and social action programs in underserved communities of color that promote cultural diversity and encourage greater understanding among different cultures. Programs are centered around enhancement of community’s quality of life through art, cultural and educational projects. We are focused on public arts education initiatives that contribute to the positive development of underserved young people and young people at risk.

We received grants from Library of Congress Open World Project. Received a grant from the Levitt Foundation to promote classical music through public spaces for everyone to experience the performing arts. Organized and promoted free classical music concerts that reached out to people of all ages and backgrounds, to ensure classical music is accessible to all through high quality, free concerts to strengthen the community and social interaction, the culturally engaged projects that changed the perception of the community through art such as Carson based "Classical Underground". In the last five years we conduct "Love My Neighbor" public art projects in the disadvantaged community of color - "Scottsdale" neighborhood of Carson where we established a non-profit Artward! Gallery "Scottsdale." Provided free art consultations to youth at risk as part of Gang Diversion program. Provided local community with free art education programs. Our focus is art as tool of community turn-around.

In 2017 and 2018 we have received grants from the Wells Fargo Foundation. In 2018 we have received prestigious Cultural Pathways Grant from the California Arts Council to increase the reach of our community outreach projects in the City of Carson. In 2019 we have received grant from the Bank of America Foundation and organized a number of events together with their Better Money Habits team.

For its community building impact, our program, Love My Neighbor Public Art Project in the Scottsdale Neighborhood of Carson, has been authoritatively recognized as a prestigious 2019 California Park & Recreation Society (CPRS) Award of Excellence recipient in the important Creating Community Award of Excellence category.

Over the last years we worked with well recognized community leaders / organizations: City of Carson City Hall, Bank of America Better Money Habits, Mission EbenEzer Community Art Center, the Bridges International Learning Center & International Institute of Tolerance. We presented our programs at the large public events including the LA's iconic Taste of Soul, the City of Carson public events Earth Day, Black History Month, Backpack Giveaway, Hispanic Heritage Day, Community Friendship Day.

Our Love My Neighbor - United Against Hate Week Otreach

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