Summer Art Works

CAW's Summer Art Works has been using the arts to teach employment skills, leadership, public speaking and social skills to teens for the last ten years.

The program, run in conjunction with New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program, hires 50-70 teens in completing large-scale community art projects such as painting murals, designing and building community theatres and constructing mosaic benches. CAW uses the creative arts to encourage responsibility, team work and build self-esteem. Our program also teaches tangible job skills in design, construction, landscaping and urban revitalization, while helping youth experience the pride and satisfaction of permanently beautifying their community with public art. Over the last three years, CAW teens enrolled in Summer Art Works have focused on painting large scale community murals in Harlem and Washington Heights, transforming their communities with 22 amazing murals. Please visit our gallery to experience these murals.

CAW's Summer Art Works has proven that Art Works! Teens who have participated in CAW's Summer Art Works programs have demonstrated statistically significant improvements in critical thinking, leadership, public speaking, teamwork and art skills.

CAW's Summer Art Works relies on the participation of community partners, such as Harlem Children's Zone, Hope Community, Inc., STRIVE, New York Mission Society, Abyssinian House, Inwood Community Services and the Department of Youth and Community Development. CAW's Summer Art Works is generously supported by many donors, including the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the State Street Foundation, Boston Properties, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Cushman Wakefield, CB Richard Ellis, Terriman Associates, Inc, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo, Milrose Consultants, Inc, Studley, Inc, Belkin Burden Wening & Goldman, Pritchard Industries, Inc, Temco Services Industries, Inc and Newmark Knight Frank.

Former projects include: