Artists Help Raise Funds for West Side "Grassroots" Group

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NEW YORK, NY (08/21/2010)(readMedia)-- A group of artists and photographers have come together to form The Underground Arts Collective. The Collective is holding an art exhibition and silent auction entitled "Strictly Grassroots" to benefit Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council.

All art work will be on exhibit beginning Wednesday, September 8, 2010 through Saturday, September 11, 2010 at El Taller, Loft and Gallery located at 2710 Broadway. The silent auction will take place on September 11, 2010 at 6PM. Bidding begins at 6PM and admission is free.

Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council, led by Upper West Side residents, is a small grassroots community group organized in 1959. It may be a small organization; however its impact over the past 50 years has been significant in the lives of children and their families.

Educating tenants on their rights, preventing evictions, connecting families with work supports and working with youth to reach their potential are just some of the ways Strycker's Bay works with resident of the West Side community.

Specifically, Strycker's Bay has stabilized housing situations that threaten tenants with eviction, assisted young people with applications for high schools and colleges, created internship opportunities, mentored teens in personal and academic crisis, offered children diverse after school enrichment programming, and showed families how to advocate on their own behalf.

"This fundraiser comes at a very critical time for us", said Kelley Williams, Strycker's Bay's Executive Director. "We have lost $55,000 in state and private funding this current fiscal year and we are scrambling to find other ways to fund our programs."

Artists from The Collective are from all parts of NYC, the US and other international cities. Through a "strictly grassroots" effort, we have already signed on close to 70 artists and photographers and the list is still growing!

The Underground Arts Collective started as the brainchild of two staff members of Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council, Kelley Williams, its Executive Director and Ramon "Been" Vasquez, lead staff at Strycker's Bay's youth program, LACASA. Both were born and raised on the Upper West Side in the 60's, 70's and 80's and are alumni of neighborhood public schools.

"Been" and Kelley have a passion for art, photography and hip hop. Like their counterparts who helped define hip-hop culture (which encompasses art, music, and dance derived from the streets of NYC) they are part of a growing group of maturing contributors and enthusiasts of the culture with a deep appreciation for its raw creativity.

"The minute I asked all of my artist friends to participate in The Collective they were quick to sign on. Then it just snowballed and I had artists contacting us to participate. Artists are a socially conscious people and always willing to help. I am very thankful to them for supporting this benefit" said Ramon "Been Vasquez one of the organizers of The Collective and the "Strictly Grassroots" event.

"We are really excited about what The Collective is able to do for our organization." says Kelley Williams, Executive Director of Strycker's Bay. "It's a way to connect people from various cultures and interests around a common theme - supporting a community that strives to remain connected to its "grassroots".

The hip hop culture has left its mark and it all began as an underground -- maybe even as a "grassroots" movement. "Been" and Kelley's generation of underground artists founded this powerfully creative art form and continue to define its legacy while keeping its history alive. Think about it, kids from the streets with no outlet for their artistic expression created, cultivated and made popular, hip hop music and the underground art scene of the 60's, 70's and 80's.

The men, women and "crews" that make up The Underground Arts use their skills to express their creativity, to get across a message, to earn a living and yes, to contribute to worthy causes such as Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council.

Visit Strycker's Bay on the web at stryckersbay.org Visit the Underground Arts Collective on Facebook