Famed Black artist Charles White once said, “An artist must bear a special responsibility. [They] must be accountable for the content of [their] work. And that work should reflect a deep, abiding concern for humanity.”
In honor of this year’s Black History Month’s theme: “African Americans and the Arts,” Yvonne DuBois, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, and Mollie Dana, Recreation Therapist, organized a “Paint and Snack” night for the children in the Residential Treatment Program. This event was hosted by Jurell, Artist and Co-Owner of Paint the Town 716, a black owned art studio in Buffalo.
The Agency’s DEI strategy is to establish an engaging community-building practice across the Agency, which involves hosting at least one educational opportunity and one connective opportunity monthly. These events will focus on strengthening the relationships between Agency staff members, other organizations in the community and the children who benefit from Agency programs in a creative and fun way.
“Connective opportunities are so important because we recognize the growing need to care for the caretakers in our community,” stated Yvonne. “People just want space to decompress, learn about one other in a casual, low-pressure setting and have fun too.”
Residential team members kept the paint night a surprise, so when the children walked into the gymnasium and saw the blank canvases and paint, they were overjoyed. The children painted to the theme of “Diversity in Hues,” and each illustrated what they viewed the Earth to look like and surrounded the planet with imagery that represented their passions.
Throughout the evening, you could hear the children laughing and excitedly telling the adults what they were putting in their paintings. After everyone finished painting, children enjoyed snow cones, cotton candy and fried Oreos while taking turns jumping in an inflatable bounce house.
Sharing a collective space and forming a community was a full-circle moment for the children and staff alike. Everyone was able to reflect themselves in their artwork and having artists from the Buffalo community host both events made the experience even more impactful for participants.
“This has opened the door for us to envision what a calendar of celebratory cultural recognition events will look like for the children moving forward,” said Yvonne. “It is just the beginning.”
