On the evening of Monday, Dec. 15, the Al Rod Gym at James Logan High School became a bustling marketplace as middle and high school students of the New Haven Unified School District gathered for the Junior ARTpreneurs Showcase.
As a live band played music to set the lively atmosphere of the room, students from Cesar Chavez Middle School and James Logan High School and their families set up tables to present their artwork. Throughout the event, visitors and community members had the opportunity to walk through the showcase and purchase students’ work.
The showcase was the product of the Junior ARTpreneurs program run by Heroes of Color. Founded in 2018 by David Heredia, the company teaches young artists entrepreneurship skills to help them sell their creations. Over eight weeks, students met twice a week after school with instructors from the program, whether to work on their projects or to practice talking to customers and negotiating prices.
Heredia explained that the program came to the district after he initially reached out to principal Ron Polk of James Logan High.
“A lot of the students at this school are super creative, but they had never had a program like ours, where we were actually fusing art and business,” Heredia said. Principal Polk later spoke to the principals at Cesar Chavez and Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle Schools to bring the programs there as well.
“It’s important when you see principals who really support the interests of their students and make it a priority,” said Heredia.
Jasmine Nguyen, a freshman at James Logan, became involved with the program last year after her school’s art teacher retired, leaving her few opportunities to explore art in her school’s classes and clubs. “The most important lesson I learned throughout this process was to explore and try new things with my art,” said Nguyen.
Throughout the program, students created pieces that were personally meaningful to them. Camila Romero, a sophomore at James Logan High School, became involved with Junior ARTpreneurs to learn how to potentially make a career with her art. Romero’s table displayed 37 pieces that she made over the course of the program.
“Many of these pieces of mine are based on characters I’ve created that represent my culture,” said Romero.
Abigail Johnsy, a freshman at James Logan, displayed her favorite piece, a pair of painted sneakers she dedicated to her best friend in Texas, where she recently moved from. Her father, John Johnsy, who was there to support her, said, “Abigail’s been awesome. She’s been able to use her time systematically and balance studying for school while working on these pieces.”
The event also featured an award ceremony, honoring four students from each school. Winners were selected not just for their artistic skill, but also for their enthusiasm and personal growth over the eight-week program. Each received a certificate and a $50 gift card to Michaels to purchase art supplies for their next projects.
Heredia hoped that the students would take away an important lesson from the showcase. “It’s not about how much money you make,” he said. “It’s about the person that you become in the process of taking that risk. That’s what we want to remind students, especially if it’s regarding something that they have a passion for.”
