A Cause For Attention
This week: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yellow Bird Project, and Art for Change
Proceeds that go to charity are never a bad thing. But there's no denying that getting something for yourself in the return process makes it feel even better.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is just one of the bands paired up with Yellow Bird Project, a Montreal-based, non-profit initiative. The organization provides the opportunity for band members to design a unique T-shirt, which is then printed and put up for sale on the project's website. All of the profit from T-shirt sales benefits an outside charity, chosen by the band.
While it might sound strange at first, a charity to help serve charities looks great in practice - especially when that practice is making and selling T-shirts.
In this instance, the earnings of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's crying pilot shirt go straight to Art for Change. Located in East Harlem, New York, this organization provides innovative art and media programs to the public with the intent of inspiring an active role in social justice issues.
A year round gallery program entitled "Art Belongs to Everyone" has been aiding the revitalization of East Harlem, while monthly presentations showcasing music, poetry, book, and film brings together artists from diverse backgrounds to display and perform their work. A two-year artist exchange program is also in process, as Art for Change staff and volunteers work with New York and Bolivian youth groups. Their collaborations will result in the creation of original theatre presentations in New York as well as short films and murals in Bolivia.
By using art as an open channel for disseminating positive information, Art for Change seeks to inspire solidarity while encouraging diversity which transcends gender, religion, race, ethnicity, and sexual preference. According to their website, the organization believes that providing space "to discuss and explore that information, stimulating individual and collective reflection... leads to action and change."
The collaborations and relationships needed to build Art for Change programs in Harlem are an emphasized point in their history and mission statement. The collaboration between CYHSY and Yellow Bird Project seems to do it justice, with art in many forms as a beautiful common ground.
Posted by Leen Morrissey on Nov 29, 2007 @ 12:00 am