International High School

Cartwheel Initiative conducted workshops in New York City with students from The International High School (IHS) at Union Square in collaboration with The Children’s Museum of the Arts.

The group comprised of teenagers from Haiti, Senegal, Yemen, El Salvador, Gambia, Eritrea, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mexico and Nepal who are temporarily living in the U.S. due to conflict, violence or natural disasters in their home countries. Students used photography, animation, as well as written and spoken word to verbalize and visualize their personal stories of both the home they left behind and their current community in New York.

As our students cultivate their talents, achieve fluency in English, and consider the next steps of their lives as new members of the New York City community, their path provides a roadmap for other students facing similar circumstances. 

Below are a few of the multimedia pieces created during the workshops.

The Mott Hall School

Cartwheel also developed a specialized curriculum and workshop for The Mott Hall School and each participating organization along with a donation of Adobe software for the participants (courtesy of the Adobe Foundation/TakingITGlobal).The Mott Hall School is in East Harlem, and is in partnership with FutureConnect. Below is some student work!

The students created visual essays about their neighborhood in East Harlem.

Interfaith-RISE

Cartwheel Initiative's team of artists recently collaborated with Interfaith-RISE, an official affiliate site of the US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants based in Central New Jersey. Interfaith-RISE assists with housing, ESL, social services, education, medical assistance, mental health services, transportation, and supportive community integration as families and individuals journey towards self-sufficiency and independence.

During this short "I Have a Voice" engagement, the theme was once again based on exploring the concept of home and identity. The class comprised of students from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Congo and the Middle East. Students created photographs of an object they brought from their original home country or from their new adopted home in the US in addition to making portraits. Short video clips about their stories were also produced (to be posted soon).