Artward Initiative 501 (c) (3) non-profit: Place Making Public Art and Kids Fest at Earthday in Great Collaboration with The City of Carson!

At Artward Initiative we greatly believe in long term collaborations. One of our primary collaboration is with the City of Carson, California on the Love My Neighbor project. As we now building back our public engagement to the levels we had pre-Covid, our Carson collaboration reached yet another level.

For the 2023 Earth Day Kids Fest we decided with our Carson partners to create something truly spectacular and lasting. We decided to create the Love My Neighbor themed community place making mural. To have the process of mural creation to serve as the community engagement tool, we opted for a hand print option. Often more exciting in concept than in results it seems hard to think up an effective way to make handprints truly work visually, and yet with the creative prowess of our lead artist Alexey Steele the concept definitely proved breathtaking!

Alexey came up with the super exciting color theme and meticulously selected top quality mural colors and supplies. Together we have developed special logistical protocols to handle kids, visitors and paints to make sure all participants have a full measure of safe and creative experience.

It was a complex and logistically involved process to satisfy multiple city regulations which demanded a lot of preparation work and even involved installing a special technologically advanced outdoor rated canvas on the wall, but the result was most certainly worth all the above and beyond effort.

It all came together in the most spectacular way as a true celebration of Carson community spirit!

Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes

Arleen Bocatija Rojas, Council Member District 4 and Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes

Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes and Jim Dear, Council Member District 2

Jawane Hilton, Mayor Pro Tem, District 1

Jim Dear, Council Member District 2

Mayor and Council Members volunteered with the logistics -

applied protective hand lotion, paints on hands and washed hands of the participants.

All age groups and Carson communities participated.

For some participants the experience proved to be spiritual in nature.

Project Lead Artist Alexey Steele coordinated and orchestrated

the placement of every color.

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.