Story
Story
projectart founder and Executive Director Adarsh Alphons learned firsthand the impact art can have on the life of a child.
Adarsh grew up in India, where he struggled socially and academically in school. He was bullied by other kids and inattentive in class. He was perpetually “in trouble.” Where he did excel was in art, and he doodled and drew throughout the school day – a passion, skill and survival mechanism all at once that ultimately got him kicked out of school … at seven years old.
Fortunately, Adarsh’s parents were empathetic and supportive, and his next school offered art classes and a more creative environment. When Nelson Mandela made a state visit to India in 1990, Adarsh was commissioned to draw his portrait, which was presented to him during his time there.
Flash-forward and Adarsh, in the U.S. on a student visa and newly graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art, took a job at the Harlem School of the Arts, combining his passion for the visual arts with personal knowledge of the impact it can have on children’s lives. His time in Harlem gave him a sightline to the state of arts education in New York: inaccessible, inequitable and inconsistent, with historically under-resourced neighborhoods the hardest hit.
He created projectart to close the gap. A CNN Hero and Columbia University Community Scholar, Adarsh continues to lead projectart as a dynamic, effective and scalable force for good that benefits the children we serve, their families, the Resident Teaching Artists that deliver high-quality programming, and the communities at large.
Through partnerships with public libraries that provide classrooms at no cost, projectart has become, as the Wall Street Journal put it, “the largest art school in the world, without owning a single building.” Now in its 12th year, projectart serves children and families in Detroit, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.
Timeline
2011
2011
In 2011, with little more than a bag full of art supplies and borrowed office space in Harlem, Adarsh began projectart. There was one goal and one goal only: to put paintbrushes in the hands of as many children without access to adequate arts education as possible. Soon, friends became teachers, parents became volunteers and kids became students.
2012
2012
First class:
10 students
First Library:
Hamilton Grange
2013
2013
Spring:
2 classes at Hamilton Grange; 20 students
Summer:
3 classes at Hamilton Grange; 30 students
Fall:
Expansion to Brooklyn + two libraries: Bushwick and Brooklyn Central; 3 classes; 30 students
2014
2014
Spring:
7 classes; 70 students; expansion to Queens + 3 libraries: Flatbush Brownsville, Corona, Long Island City
Summer:
10 classes; 100 students + 3 libraries: Saratoga, Broadway and Arlington.
Fall:
13 classes; 130 students; expansion to Bronx + 4 libraries: Hunts Point, Grand Concourse, Steinway and Cypress Hills
2015
2015
Spring:
Increased class size from 10 to 15
Summer:
14 classes; 210 students Plus 3 libraries: coney island south Jamaica 125th street county Cullen
Fall:
21 classes; 315 students; expansion to Staten Island + 6 libraries: Crown Heights, Arlington, Allerton, Queens Central, Cambria Heights and Stapleton
2016
2016
Spring:
28 classes; 420 students; +1 library: Courts Square
Summer:
17 classes; 255 students; +1 library: Red Hook
Fall:
Expanded to Detroit and Miami +2 libraries NYC
2017
2017
Expanded to Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles
2018
2018
Expanded to New Orleans
2019
2019
Expanded to San Francisco
2020
2020
COVID lockdown Launched virtual classes
2021
2021
Virtual classes
2022
2022
Hybrid – remote + in-person classes
2023
2023
Reopening in-person classes across the nation. Expanded to Cincinnati
2011
In 2011, with little more than a bag full of art supplies and borrowed office space in Harlem, Adarsh began projectart. There was one goal and one goal only: to put paintbrushes in the hands of as many children without access to adequate arts education as possible. Soon, friends became teachers, parents became volunteers and kids became students.
2012
First class:
10 students
First Library:
Hamilton Grange
2013
Spring:
2 classes at Hamilton Grange; 20 students
Summer:
3 classes at Hamilton Grange; 30 students
Fall:
Expansion to Brooklyn + two libraries: Bushwick and Brooklyn Central; 3 classes; 30 students
2014
Spring:
7 classes; 70 students; expansion to Queens + 3 libraries: Flatbush Brownsville, Corona, Long Island City
Summer:
10 classes; 100 students + 3 libraries: Saratoga, Broadway and Arlington.
Fall:
13 classes; 130 students; expansion to Bronx + 4 libraries: Hunts Point, Grand Concourse, Steinway and Cypress Hills
2015
Spring:
Increased class size from 10 to 15
Summer:
14 classes; 210 students Plus 3 libraries: coney island south Jamaica 125th street county Cullen
Fall:
21 classes; 315 students; expansion to Staten Island + 6 libraries: Crown Heights, Arlington, Allerton, Queens Central, Cambria Heights and Stapleton
2016
Spring:
28 classes; 420 students; +1 library: Courts Square
Summer:
17 classes; 255 students; +1 library: Red Hook
Fall:
Expanded to Detroit and Miami +2 libraries NYC
2017
Expanded to Chicago, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles
2018
Expanded to New Orleans
2019
Expanded to San Francisco
2020
COVID lockdown Launched virtual classes
2021
Virtual classes
2022
Hybrid – remote + in-person classes
2023
Reopening in-person classes across the nation.
Expanded to Cincinnati