OSY Art Workshops Series

The NYS-MEP is excited to host the virtual Out of School Youth Art workshops series! Three events are scheduled for spring 2022. Migrant Educators: Please invite your OSY students to participate in one, two, or all of the workshops! Read about each workshop below.

Special Instructions

• This series is for NYS-MEP students and staff only.
• Migrant Educators: Use the registration link below to sign up your students!
• Zoom meeting information will be sent to students and Migrant Educators via email and WhatsApp prior to each event.
• The delivery of workshop supplies will be coordinated with each student ahead of time.
• Registration is appreciated at least two weeks prior to the event. This will help us deliver supplies in a timely manner.

ReencontrARTE: Capturing Emotion, Creativity, and Voice Through Art

This event took place on Tuesday, March 29, 2022 (6:30-8 pm). Thank you to all who participated!

Presented in Spanish only. This workshop will not be recorded.

Andrés Chamorro has become a familiar face to the NYS-MEP having been invited year after year to present identity workshops to students, in which he uses art as a way of identity expression. Whether it is a summer program like the SUNY Oneonta Migrant Leadership Academy (SOMLA) and the High School Online Leadership Academy (HOLA) or be it presenting during the school year to students through the METS, Andrés’ workshops are always well liked. As a part of the new art series organized by the NYS-MEP for OSY students, we are excited that Andrés has agreed to present an art workshop which incorporates goal setting! Students will use art to express their personal goals, and in the process, they will be encouraged to analyze challenges and opportunities on the road to achieving them. Art pieces will represent the various aspects of achieving goals. During the workshop, Andrés will give insight regarding the value of building bridges, expanding social awareness, and the importance of planning and understanding the power of education.

Mandala Drawing

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 (6:30-8 pm)

Presented in English with consecutive Spanish interpretation. This workshop will not be recorded.

The word "mandala" means circle in Sanskrit. These circular designs, from the simplest spiral carved in stone to Tibetan sand mandalas and the Aztec calendar, are found in ancient cultures all over the world. In the mandala workshop, out-of-school-youth will partake in creating mandalas of their own! These designs will represent what is close to their hearts ~ family, nature, religion, home. Julia Stewart-Bittle will lead this presentation. Julia is a professional artist who has taught art workshops for farmworkers in their homes for the past 22 years. Since 2014, she has also taught various art workshops for grades 6-12 in the Oswego METS summer program. Julia is Coordinator for the CAMPS art program which was founded at the former Geneseo Migrant Center, and which is now administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts in Mount Morris, NY.

Poetry, Storytelling, and Music

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 (6:30-8 pm)

Presented in Spanish only. This workshop will not be recorded.

David Gonzalez is an award-winning performance artist including a Lifetime Achievement Award for International Performing Arts for Youth with extensive experience conducting outreach with underserved communities. He earned his doctorate from New York University and has received numerous grants and commissions throughout his long career. In this interactive poetry, music, and storytelling presentation, David will tell tales and read poetry from his life as a contemporary Hispanic citizen. An open dialogue will be encouraged to facilitate connection and deepen meaning. Included will be poems in Spanish and English, stories from Puerto Rico, and South America, original music for the guitar, plus a version of Violeta Parra's celebrated anthem, Gracias A La Vida. A question and answer period will follow the presentation. 

The content of these presentations are geared towards serving the migrant populations in New York State as defined under Title I, Part C and the approved State Service Delivery Plan, and may NOT be appropriate to all situations.