Artists
Spring 2017
With James N. Kienitz Wilkins

A group of teens standing together.

YI Artists present collaborative work at YI Spring Celebration. Photograph by Filip Wolak

A group of teens standing together.

On Thursdays, YI Artists participated in a multimedia investigation of a “mysterious narrative” using real-world materials with 2017 Whitney Biennial artist James N. Kienitz Wilkins. Students presented a collaborative video and ephemera from that investigation at their final celebration.

  • Youth Insights Artists with James N. Kienitz Wilkins.

    Youth Insights Artists with James N. Kienitz Wilkins. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Youth Insights Artists with James N. Kienitz Wilkins.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.
  • Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work. Photograph by Filip Wolak

    Spring 2017 YI Artists work.

Ali

Ali is from New York City. She has a twin and goes to Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Ali thinks art gives a powerful voice to people of all walks of life. She isn’t sure what the future holds, but she sees art as being a big part of it for her. She also hopes to travel.

Azzare

Azzare is from the Bronx and has a Jamaican and Canadian background. She considers art to be a form of self-expression and a way to make discoveries about herself. In the future, she hopes to become a paramedic in New York City, living in a studio apartment, and painting in her spare time.

Delicia

Del is from the Bronx. Del uses art as an outlet to express feelings or thoughts that she can’t explain in words. In the future, she hopes to be happy, positive, and surrounded by supportive people. She also hopes to maintain a positive mindset.

Emily

Emily is from China. She thinks of art as inclusive of all kinds of beauty in a broad sense. She loves to experience and observe nature. Art brings her pleasure beyond words. In the future, Emily hopes to travel around the world and decorate her house with all handmade things.

Frannie

Frannie was born in the Dominican Republic, but has been raised in different parts of the Bronx. She feels that art is a way to connect with all types of people, like a language that everybody can interpret in their own way. In the future, she hopes to go to an art college and do what she loves throughout her life.

Isabela

Isabela is from Brooklyn, has lived in New York her whole life, and is of Puerto Rican and Italian heritage. To Isabela, art means self-expression and freedom. In the future, she hopes to have a job that fulfills and makes her happy. She would love for that to mean working in the arts.

Kat

Kat is from Brooklyn. She believes that art is a means of expressing oneself and can be found in everyday life. In the future, she hopes to graduate high school with a 4.0 GPA, and go to college.

Katherine

Katherine is from Colombia and has lived in the United States for two years. To Katherine, art is the way she feels most comfortable expressing herself. It is the most appealing way to transmit a message on a global level. In the future, she hopes to give a voice to people all around the world that need to be heard and/or seen.

Kayla

Kayla is from Brooklyn. To her, art has always been a way to express who she is and her feelings. Kayla loves making art and listening to music. She has also used art as a form of therapy.

Mac

Mac was born and raised in New York City. To Mac, art is a way to make change, the product of inspiration, or seeing something in a new way. In the future, Mac wants to do what they love, be involved in working with other people, and hopefully have a career that allows them to get enough sleep.

Marwa

Marwa is from Chicago, but was raised in New York. She was first introduced to art by her mother, and has been in love with it ever since. In the future, she hopes to feel comfortable making and showing her artwork, and when she does, she wants people to feel her emotion and passion.

Max

Max is originally from Germany, but lives in Brooklyn. He considers art to be a space to express oneself and exercise personal and emotional freedom while engaging with society. In the future he would like to be in a position that allows him to be part of a community of artists that fosters personal growth and creativity.

Michelle

Michelle is from Queens. For her, art is a reason for existence. In the future, she hopes to possibly go into animation or the video game industry as a concept artist. She would also like to work at the intersections of art, biology, anthropology, and computer science.

Mohamed

Mohamed is from Chicago. He defines art as freedom and wildness. In the future he hopes to be the best person he can be—whatever form that takes.

Nick

Nick is from the Bronx. He is Dominican and Colombian. Nick believes that art is the ability to create and that isn’t limited to visual art. In the future, he hopes to design sneakers with Nike, whether that means a completely new model, or just a new colorway of sneakers.

Orlie

Orlie is from New York City. She considers herself “deprived of sleep but not dreams.” To Orlie, art is a state of being, and cannot be pinned down by a fixed definition. She loves sewing, painting, drawing, dancing, reading, and cats In the future, Orlie hopes to become a high fashion creative director. She is currently accumulating readers of her online fashion blog.

Samantha

Samantha is from New York City and of Mexican background. Samantha considers art to be a window into the minds of others, providing insights that can’t always be communicated through words. In the future, she hopes to travel to different places, create change in the world, and eventually get a PhD in philosophy.

Sofia

Sofia is from Brooklyn and has lived there all her life, but her family is from Argentina. She defines art as a means to express herself however she would like—such as telling a story and inspiring others. In the future, she hopes to make political change and motivate others to do the same.