K’Shawn Cheneau,
New Harmony High, Class of 2024.
I think of my artwork as the emotions of a kid that is coming of age when all they feel is pain, anger and sadness, but all at the same time. They feel emotions like joy, happiness, excitement, because they are close to becoming an actual adult. Different pieces of artwork show different things. My artwork shows negative and positive emotions. That is because coming of age for kids means almost becoming a grown up, which is joy. On the other hand, they are almost close to becoming a grown up, which means bills and rent and car notes and any other things that have to be paid when you get older. So for kids who are coming of age, that is kind of frustrating and aggravating as well, because you really weren’t expecting it.
Fiona Doran,
Haynes Academy, Class of 2021.
This piece is dedicated to my younger brother and our relationship. It’s a fondness that has stayed youthful and energetic despite us both growing up. Our friendship is something that keeps me consistently coming of age, because it keeps me tied to the sensation of childhood, while living in a transitional period of my life— entering adulthood. In my work, we are depicted playing like children, despite being older, surrounded by the colors one can only see in the world as a child.
About a year ago, I received a very ill intended message, with the main takeaway being that whenever the sender looks in my eyes, they see that all I want is attention. Clearly they needed to look in my eyes again, so I made a piece that made my gaze inescapable. During this time in my life, I was surrounded by negativity, and I was tired of feeling the weight that came with it. I decided to take this energy and become proactive by making something enjoyable instead.
Cora Hardy,
Haynes Academy, Class of 2021
This piece is inspired by my best friend of 6 years who is currently recovering from cancer. The image depicts two fairies just resting in space which accurately represents how we have been living our lives the past couple years. I feel a deep connection and sense of nostalgia when I look at this piece. It helps me visualize just how much our friendship matters to me even though we were just kids when we first met.
Collaboration with Paris James and Carson Williams,
Classes of 2021 and 2021.
The process of making this piece consisted of working together virtually and mailing each other supplies and finished products in pieces. The distant, abstract and individualized process of the creation of this piece reflects the environment that we have been forced to mature in for the past year with COVID-19 impacting our everyday lives. Our introspection about the negative and positive emotions felt over the course of our youth influenced the creation of this piece, which is expressed in each individual scene. The configuration of the collage is inspired by a clock, signifying the progression of time in cycles, as well as a compass, signifying the maturation that has taken place leading up to this point and the journey that will follow in the future.
Henry Johnson,
Benjamin Franklin High School, Class of 2021.
My body of work for this exhibition is meant to explore the realizations that you make as you grow older. As people grow up and prepare to go out into the world, they start to look around their environment and appreciate the things they once glanced over and find issues in things they hadn’t even thought about in their adolescence. For me, these discoveries ranged from my finding peace with my artwork all the way to embracing and learning more about my Kréyol heritage. All of the art pieces are drawn digitally in a program called Firealpaca. The subject matter of them all are identity, so they’re going to all have similar looks. However, the overall tone and vibe of the piece is made apparent by colors, shading technique, setting, etc.
Jermaine Lindsey,
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Class of 2021.
As an artist I’m very versatile when it comes to media. My ability to adapt to whatever supplies I have helps me innovate my thought process and nourish my creative mind. I love breaking barriers as a painter, sculpture photographer etc. I am a creator. Working on a large scale is a crucial part of my artwork that affects the impact of each piece. I love the challenge of taking any medium and making something that I can be proud of. I also love painting portraits, all of my portraits have a specific mood and could’ve been created to set a reminder of trauma or joy in my life. My color palette for most of my pieces sets a mood. I look at my artwork as a gateway into my brain, every brush stroke has a purpose. I use specific colors to show awareness, problems, storytelling, moods. My work carries a piece of my heart, once I pick up that paintbrush it’s like I enter a marathon of dedication. One of the hardest things about being an artist is knowing when a piece is completed and I’m the type of artist that can spend weeks on a painting, sculpture, mural. Art is my superpower, I shape shift time as I create.
Mei Miller,
New Harmony High School, Class of 2023.
My piece for this exhibition is focused on the stages of life, and more specifically on the feeling of being at the intersection of childhood and adulthood. The materials reflect a central idea of time; from dried flowers, to wax and the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Components of this piece came from an old book I found in a Little Free Library. I wanted to challenge myself to do something new as I made this piece, and that prompted me to work in a new style with media I’d never used before.
Samarah Tahir,
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Class of 2022.
My work is a reflection of who I am through 3rd person stereotypes and engagement of different communities I belong to referencing collage work and clothing magazines. I hope to make people think about the racially charged views of fetishizing, forcing and racially misogynistic profiling toward black women. My work fits in with the idea of Coming of Age because I get to show my own truth and reclaim it in my own way as I step forward into my future as an artist.
Carson Williams,
Haynes Academy and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Class of 2021.
My art consists of any medium that I can get my hands on when I feel inspired. Sometimes my work takes on a more visual, handmade medium. Sometimes it’s sculptural and conceptual or sometimes I’ll take some photos and digitally edit and manipulate them beyond recognition. No matter the medium though, my artwork has one constant throughout. Everything that I create is bound to be in the vain of an abstracted version of reality through the lens of my imaginative and additive perspective.
Ingalls Vincent,
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts & Benjamin Franklin High School, Class of 2021.
Healthy growth thrives on social interaction and a solid connection to the outside world. These pieces shed light on the devastating effect that COVID-19’s quarantine has had on mental health and the ability to cope with loss. There is a stark transition between a dreamlike happiness that the figure finds amongst nature, ignorant of looming death and the harsh isolation of losing touch with the outside world. Just as so many children and teenagers have endured a year of demanding work and difficult social interaction, they have grown disillusioned with the idea of youth and the powerlessness that they feel daily. The clear resonance between textures and colors in the pieces connects them, while still emphasizing the deep contrast between the two situations in which the figure finds himself.
Skyler Yetta,
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts & Benjamin Franklin High School, Class of 2021.
Growing up Roman Catholic, every Sunday I was surrounded by beautifully saturated classical style murals and gold leaf. This, along with my love of sci-fi comics, gothic metal and horror punk music, has inspired me to use very expressive and saturated colors in my work. I gravitate towards any messy color media. Oil paint, acrylic, pastel, dye, all of it. I love the process because getting the colors everywhere makes me feel that much more immersed in the palette.
This piece is inspired by my best friend of 6 years who is currently recovering from cancer. The image depicts two fairies just resting in space which accurately represents how we have been living our lives the past couple years. I feel a deep connection and sense of nostalgia when I look at this piece. It helps me visualize just how much our friendship matters to me even though we were just kids when we first met.