The Lower Eastside Girls Club

Getting There is a mural by Morgan Everhart near the intersection of Grand and Suffolk Streets in New York City’s Lower East Side that commemorates our persistence through the isolation brought on by the pandemic and supports two local non-profit organizations central to the community: The Lower Eastside Girls Club and The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center

The sooner we have the funds for these essential epicenters of inspiration, creativity, education, and wellbeing, the sooner their programming can happen! With your donation, thousands of community residents will receive access to free education, free healthcare & wellbeing, and free arts programming.

Proceeds will be split between The Lower Eastside Girls Club's Center for Wellbeing & Happiness and The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center's International Puppet Fringe. All charitable contributions will be received by The Lower Eastside Girls Club and then distributed accordingly to The Clemente at the end of the fundraiser.

Any donations over $300 will receive a signed, limited edition print by mural artist Morgan Everhart.

Any donations over $5,000.00 will receive:

-Special recognition in programming by The Lower Eastside Girls Club and The Clemente Center

-10 tickets to The Clemente Center’s International Puppet Fringe Festival

-Gift basket and thank you note from The Lower Eastside Girls Club

If you have any questions about how your organization can partner with this initiative, please contact Morgan Everhart directly.

The Lower Eastside Girls Club provides free, year-around, innovative youth programming. In January 2022, they will open the Center for Wellbeing and Happiness for intergenerational and holistic wellness programming for all community members, at no cost. The Center for Wellbeing and Happiness (CWBH) strategically addresses wellbeing and health disparities in the Lower East Side by utilizing intentional, trauma-informed, holistic programming rooted in community-centered resilience, prevention, recovery and self-reliance. The CWBH will serve as a wellness hub providing the space and opportunity for local organizations, expert practitioners, health-based city agencies and institutions, and their talented and resource filled community members, to connect, collaborate and serve.

Donations from this mural project will underwrite workshops for community members at the Lower Eastside Girls Club’s Center for Wellbeing & Happiness (CWBH).

The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center Inc is a Puerto Rican/Latinx multi-arts cultural institution rooted in NYC’s Lower East Side/Loisaida. The Clemente operates polyphonically to provide affordable space and venues to artists, small arts organizations, emergent and independent community producers that reflect the cultural diversity of the LES and our city. The Clemente seeks donations to raise critical funds to sustain itself as an affordable performing arts hub and support BIPOC artists.

Donations from this mural project will specifically fund The Clemente’s Puppet Fringe NYC (August 11-31, 2021), the first ever international & bilingual fringe festival dedicated to puppetry. Over 24,000 guests and 10 international companies representing 16 countries will participate in this event.

Location: 393 Grand Street New York, NY 10002

The Board of Directors for Seward Park Cooperative, home to over 5,000 residents, selected this mural proposal. Nearby you'll find: The Essex Street Market, Seward Park, Trader Joe's, Target, popular nightlife spots, Chinatown, Abrons Arts Center, countless world-class restaurants, cafes and specialty food shops.

About the Artist: Morgan Everhart

Morgan Everhart is a Dallas born, Brooklyn based artist who works primarily in painting, installation, performance, and writing. Everhart’s practice challenges naturalism and ontology through reflection on personal experiences, identity, religion, and art history.

Everhart currently has a solo exhibition at the David Owsley Museum of Art in Indiana titled, "Flesh & Bloom ", curated by Dr. Yassana Croizat-Glazer of YCG Fine Art . Recent exhibitions include: Flowers for my Failures at the Longwood Museum, Virginia; BLOOM at Millersville University, Pennsylvania; and, Four Degrees of Abstraction at Markel Fine Arts, New York.

Morgan Everhart is creating this mural and fundraiser, pro bono, to benefit the LES community.

This mural’s art supplies are funded by YCG Fine Art . YCG Fine Art, founded by Yassana Croizat-Glazer, is an online gallery and art advisory business specializing in modern and contemporary art, as well as European painting from the 16th to the 19th centuries. If you have any inquiries regarding Morgan Everhart’s art, please contact YCG Fine Art.

YCG Fine Art is funding the painting production costs for this mural.

Thank you to our local Home Depot, Target, and Trader Joes for donating supplies for the production of this mural.

Thank you to our local Blick Art Materials for providing discounts on mural supplies.

This mural is a part of Neumeraki ’s exhibition, “Art Off Screen ”, an international exhibition of over 100 artwork and performances in outward-facing locations around the world. Eileen Jeng Lynch, founder of Neumeraki, is the Curator of Visual Arts at Wave Hill as well as a freelance writer, editor, and consultant in New York City.

Neumeraki will co-host a closing reception for "Art Off-Screen" at this mural's location (TBC). Juanita Lanzo's "Out/In: Reflections on life, joy and being together", 2020.

Lauren Damaskinos is a freelance commercial and portrait photographer based in Brooklyn, NY who is documenting the mural production. With a strong female gaze and an attuned sense of color her work finds harmony and strength in otherwise quiet and intimate moments. She works in collaboration with agencies, publications, and designers, large and small, to bring brands and stories to life.

Lauren Damaskinos is contributing, pro bono, her photography to highlight this mural project.

 

Cam Willis is a Director of Photography based in Brooklyn, New York. He had a unique start to his career by filming freestyle skiing. This lead to him working with world class athletes from around the world, filming multiple ski projects, and ultimately landed him an Xgames Silver Medal in a film competition know as Xgames Real Ski. Cam still spends his free time working and connecting with these ski athletes, but has largely shifted his focus towards building his portfolio as a cinematographer in the commercial world by working with brands such as Kate Spade, Armani, Nike, Adida, Furla, Target, and U.S. Nordic. Cam’s experiences thus far enable him to have an energetic approach to building unique sequences which motivate the story line behind every project.

Cam Willis is contributing a short video, at cost, to highlight this mural project.

 

Jon Lerner is a Chief Marketing Officer at Bakery Agency, a Business Developer, and Marketing Strategy consultant. Jon is an executive level expert focused on growth and business strategy in the creative and design industries. He has built meaningful business relationships with companies with top leadership at companies like Facebook, Google, Linkedin, Uber, Nike, Adidas, Equinox, and Vornado REIT, among others. As a seasoned marketer, Jon finds and tells compelling stories, and leverages a strategic network of strategic partners to place those stories in front of the right audiences.

Jon Lerner is contributing, pro bono, to this project to promote fundraising and opportunities.

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit The Lower Eastside Girls Club, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
More information about The Lower Eastside Girls Club: Joy. Power. Possibility. The Lower Eastside Girls Club connects girls and young women to healthy and successful futures. Our state-of-the-art community center offers a safe haven with programs in the arts, sciences, leadership, entrepreneurship, and wellness for girls in middle and high school. Programs are offered at no cost to girls and their families. The Lower Eastside Girls Club breaks the cycle of poverty by training the next generation of ethical, entrepreneurial, and environmental leaders. Girls Club members overcome adversity, perceive opportunity, develop self-confidence, make ethical decisions and healthy life choices, thrive academically, embrace leadership, and have the ability to enter college or the workforce as fully prepared and connected adults.

obéFORWARD presents a 60-minute LIVE yoga and dance class to benefit the Lower Eastside Girls Club, supported by our friends at RXBAR.

Taught by obé instructors:
Beth Cooke
Lulu Soni

When: Sunday 8/23 @ 4:00-5:00 pm EST
Where: www.obefitness.com and the obé app 

Donate now until Sunday 8/23 @ 8pm EST and be sure to tune in LIVE. 

In support of the event, RXBAR has made a donation of $5,000 to the Lower Eastside Girls Club.   


About The Lower Eastside Girls Club of NY (LESGC)
Joy. Power. Possibility.

The Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC) is amplifying the collective power of the community and cultivating a new generation of change agents. Amidst these days of outrage, despair, and exhaustion, we reaffirm our commitment to antiracism and all forms of oppression, and passionately declare that #blacklivesmatter. LESGC has fought for racial, gender and socio-economic justice for nearly 25 years and we won’t stop now. The Girls Club is elevating the power of girl’s voices and leadership, promoting the strength of sisterhood, and providing young womxn with the tools and experiences they need to overcome barriers that may limit their potential. We support our members as they make sense of the chaotic world around them, developing their own lens to analyze and question the root causes of the challenges our communities are facing. They are trained to use Art as a tool of Activism; through photography, music, film and digital media, and so much more, girls learn to process and reflect upon their experiences through creative expression. Our 35,000 sf state-of-the-art community center offers a safe haven with programs— offered at no cost to girls and their families— in the arts, sciences, leadership, civic engagement, advocacy/community organizing, entrepreneurship, and wellness for girls in middle and high school.

Hi, I'm Kusum Kanwar, and I'm raising funds for the Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC). This incredible organization is dedicated to building a just and equitable future filled with “Joy. Power. Possibility.” They empower young women and gender-expansive youth of color throughout New York City, supporting them in leveraging their inner power to shape a better future for themselves and their communities. By providing innovative programming in STEM, Arts, Digital Media, and Wellness, LESGC nurtures curiosity and creativity in young people.

Your support helps the Lower Eastside Girls Club make a difference by contributing towards efforts like:

• Providing enriching programs that inspire youth to explore their passions and reach their potential.
• Offering wrap-around wellness and healing-centered services to promote overall mental and emotional health.
• Building community connections through leadership initiatives that empower youth to advocate for themselves and their peers.

Please join me in supporting this vital work. Your donation will help ensure that the Lower Eastside Girls Club continues to uplift and inspire the next generation!