The Fresh Air Fund curated and posted an online gallery of artwork by New York City children, including several from Queens children, for its latest community art project, “Portrait of Summer.”
More than 100 children participated in creating a gallery of these creative drawings, colorful paintings and digital art. The Fresh Air Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides transformative experiences for children from New York City’s low-income communities.
“Portrait of Summer” encouraged young peoples’ imaginations to soar by reflecting on their summer experiences in which the Fresh Air children discovered new talents, developed self-confidence, made new friends and had fun.
Ayesha, an 8-year-old from Queens, thought about her loved ones.
“When I created my ‘Portrait of Summer,’ I got to use my imagination and draw! I drew my friends, family and me at the beach because I wanted to show what I do in the summer,” Ayesha said. “I can’t wait to show it to my family!”
The Fresh Air children shared what summer means to them as a part of a social media campaign with the hashtag #PortraitofSummer. The digital art exhibit can be found on their website at freshair.org/portrait-of-summer.
Zoe, an 11-year-old from Queens, based her work on her camp experience.
“I love camp! I liked all the activities and the new people I met. I like kayaking, rowing and learning about the farm. I added signs in my drawing, the ‘Mask Required’ and ‘Caution Fun!’” Zoe said. “When I think of summer, it makes me think of swimming, arts and crafts and fresh air!”
The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit organization that has provided free summer experiences in the outdoors to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Despite COVID-19 complications, the Fund continued to provide safe, fun, engaging and enriching experiences for New York City youth. The Fresh Air children can also participate in the year-round leadership and educational programs that the fund offers.
For more information about the Fresh Air Fund, visit freshair.org.
