Art Exchange Program: Kids make art to exchange online with kids from other countries. On a predetermined date, kids logon to our website and see projects from kids in schools around the world. The director of the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan has expressed interest in collaborating. I’m waiting to hear back from schools in Kenya, India, and China.
Friend Link Program: Kids who are fluent in English meet kids who need to improve their language skills (we’re starting with refugee children). At the high school level, the partners meet at Manhattan museums once a month or once every-other-month, to view art, talk, and have lunch. Children will be paired by gender and age. Parents are encouraged to make an appearance at the first meeting, so they meet their child’s partner.
At the middle school level, kids who live in close proximity to their partners, meet to make art with adult supervision.
Special Charity Events: During an upcoming evening, kids will loom hats (looming is like knitting, but it enables almost all kids complete the work in 2-3 hours), while watching movies. The hats will be given to homeless children and to refugee kids.
Art for Sale: Kids art turns into stickers, iron-ons, and temporary tattoos that are sold to raise funds for children’s charities. Upcoming Event: Kids will have an art sale to raise money to support research for a newly discovered chromosomal disorder. Last year, we had an art sale and raised over $3000 for the Blossom Hill Foundation’s programs for children in conflict zones. Kids also collected 100 pounds of art supplies, which we sent to children at the Za’atari Refugee Camp.
The Incentive System (this may take a while to initiate):
Eventually, kids will earn points for their Big Picture Foundation work, which they’ll be able to exchange for rewards. Since I envision to Big Picture Foundation programs eventually becoming accessible to kids around the world, I’m first trying to find either franchise companies or international companies to collaborate.
Art Education
As kids work, they have opportunities to learn about artists whose work reflects upon global contemporary issues.