NeON Arts Sets Upcoming Public Events Celebrating Student Work

Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in partnership with the Department of Probation (DOP) today announced nine public events across all five boroughs of New York City in May and June celebrating creative work by members of the community as part of NeON Arts, a citywide arts education initiative. This spring, eight organizations and artists were selected to create arts programming with youth in the seven communities that are served by the DOP's Neighborhood Opportunity Networks (NeONs), which connect local residents, including those on probation, to resources and opportunities in their neighborhoods:

Bedford-Stuyvesant: Green Earth Poets Cafe
Brownsville: Chris S. Owens Foundation
East New York: Building Beats
Harlem: Rogério Boccato and Gabriel Globus-Hoenich
Jamaica: Flex Art
South Bronx: Free Verse, The Animation Project, and Renaissance Youth Center
Staten Island: Chris S. Owens Foundation

Launched by the DOP and Carnegie Hall in spring 2014, NeON Arts offers young people in New York City the chance to explore the arts through projects in a variety of disciplines, including dance, music, theater, visual arts, poetry, and digital media. Creating art with fellow community members promotes community integration, decreases stigma, and develops the social and professional skills of all participating youth. (See calendar of events below.)

Through a commitment to arts programming in justice settings and as an ongoing partner of the DOP, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute facilitates the grant-making process, coordinates citywide NeON Arts events, and works with arts organizations and NeON stakeholders to ensure that the planning and implementation of each project are a collaboration that benefits the entire community.

An integral part of the development of NeON Arts has been the direct involvement of local community members. Participating arts organizations were selected by local NeON stakeholders made up of people on probation, DOP staff, key members of the community, and local businesses.

For more information, visit carnegiehall.org/NeONArts/

NeON Arts Spring Events Schedule

Tuesday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m.
South Bronx NeON
198 East 161st Street | Bronx
The Animation Project

The Animation Project (TAP), an organization dedicated to using digital art technology as a therapeutic medium and a workforce development tool with at-risk youth, presents an original animated video created by participants using professional digital art computer programs. The film takes a creative look at how to make productive decisions.
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Wednesday, May 25 at 7:00 p.m.
Drew Hamilton Community Center
220 West 143rd Street | Manhattan
Rogério Boccato & Gabriel Globus-Hoenich

Rogério Boccato and Gabriel Globus-Hoenich use rhythm, percussion, musical fundamentals, and ensemble playing to foster community development skills and spur social change. In this culminating NeON Arts performance, Harlem youth sing, dance, and play as part of the PlasticBand Percussion Group, joined by the G.R.I.O.T. Brass and Percussion Group, and featuring Grammy Award-winning guitarist Lionel Loueke from Benin as a special guest.
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Friday, May 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Taft Educational Campus
240 East 172nd Street | Bronx
Renaissance Youth Center

Monday, July 18 at 1:00 p.m.
South Bronx NeON
198 East 161st Street | Bronx
Renaissance Youth Center

The Renaissance Youth Center uses a holistic approach to empower at-risk inner city youth to fully maximize their potential as productive and responsible members of society by offering dynamic, team-building education, music, and sports programs while instilling the importance of building strong communities. These public performances showcase the Music With A Message (MWAM) Band.
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Wednesday, June 1 at 5:00 p.m.
HELP New Horizons
188 Sutter Ave | Brooklyn
Chris S. Owens Foundation

Tuesday, June 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Staten Island NeON
340 Bay Street | Staten Island
Chris S. Owens Foundation

The Chris S. Owens Foundation provides youth empowerment programs to over 2000 at-risk teens and young adults in various communities in Brooklyn and throughout New York City with the mission to end gun violence. After learning the tools needed to produce and market their own films this spring, participants will screen a public service announcement and perform original music about standing up to the violence.
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Saturday, June 11 at 12:00 p.m.
Bedford Stuyvesant Multi Service Center
1958 Fulton Street, 5th Floor | Brooklyn
Green Earth Poets Café

Green Earth Poets Café exists to promote literacy, self-confidence, communication, community, and educational development among young people in economically challenged areas of New York City through the performing arts. On Saturday, June 11, participants present an afternoon of poetry, hip hop, comedy, and improv.
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Thursday, June 23 at 12:00 p.m.
South Bronx NeON
198 East 161st Street | Bronx
Free Verse

Free Verse, the journal of poetry and prose born in the probation center waiting room of the South Bronx NeON, presents an afternoon of original poetry by Bronx community members and youth. Through regular workshops, Free Verse creates an informal learning environment in which poetry serves as the pathway to better prospects in life.
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Wednesday, June 15 at 4:00 p.m.
The Alpha School
2400 Linden Boulevard | Brooklyn
Building Beats

Building Beats provides introductory music education lessons in DJing and music production to youth in areas lacking access to high quality arts programming. As part of NeON Arts, East New York youth have created, recorded, and produced their own music, gaining hands-on experience with creative software and audio-mixing consoles, and learning about music production techniques used in hip-hop, rap, and R&B from professional musicians and producers. At this listening party, the students will showcase their final works.
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Saturday, June 25 at 4:00 p.m.
Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning
161-04 Jamaica Avenue | Queens
Flex Art

Flex Art provides dance sessions and creative mentorship for at-risk youth in New York City. This spring, participants in Jamaica, Queens took part in dance and art workshops that encouraged positive growth through artistic expression and freestyle performance, with a culminating show on Saturday, June 25.