The children stole the show at the seventh annual Kaufman Arts District holiday tree lighting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 12.
Students from the neighboring Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement at P.S. 166 marched down 35th Avenue and came to a stop where the tree stood in the front portico of the Kaufman Astoria Studios where it was adorned with ornaments decorated and donated by the children.
“For these young people, they get to create something that’s on display for everybody, so people walk by this tree and they see their work,” Jacob Riis Settlement House Executive Director Chris Hanway said. “Of course, they post their work on the halls in the school or in their bedrooms but this is like their first chance to do public art. People are actually seeing their creation in this beautiful tree, so I think it has a lot of meaning for the kids in a whole lot of ways.”
The tree stands in the spot where the Kaufman Arts District was announced nearly a decade ago as a home to a community of unique cultural institutions, anchored by Kaufman Astoria Studios and the Museum of the Moving Image across the street from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School. The Kaufman Arts District spans a 24-block area and serves to advocate and promote the arts in the neighborhood.
Kaufman Astoria Studios Vice President Tracy Capune welcomed the students and led the countdown until the tree was lit.
“This is just my favorite 20 minutes of the year. They’re happy. They’re thrilled. They’re so proud of what they’ve put up,” Capune said. “It’s having your art hanging in a very public space and it just makes me happy. It’s not about attention; it’s just about working with a group that has no other way to work with the studio in other capacities.”
She added that the children can decorate the ornaments however they want and that there’s never a theme. The kids spent time pointing out their artwork before heading back to school.
“To see something that they’ve created on that beautiful tree, it empowers them. It gives them a sense that they can be creative, that they have a voice,” Hanway said. “To see their art there for everybody to see and see their self-expression, I think that’s what’s exciting for them.”
Additional reporting by Paul Frangipane.
