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BRIDGES partnered with local artist, Manny Santana of New York is a Nationality, on a community art project for youth, The Resilience Project. Funded under a 2021Arts Alive Community Project grant from Arts Westchester, we hosted several art workshops for youth featuring artist Manny Santana who led Rockland youth to create artwork that expresses resilience and connects them to one another and the community.
Manny Santana of New York is a Nationality
Manny Santana is a local artist who overcame barriers. He credits art with saving and changing his life. Manny is known for connecting diverse people and communities. He is an artist and creative designer who started his own brand, New York is a Nationality, which quickly gained popularity with people from all walks of life throughout New York.
Manny’s work educates other artists; connects existing communities; builds new communities; and increases access, participation, and visibility in the arts. He was recently featured in an exhibit at the Garner Arts Center. Manny believes in giving back to the community and enjoys working with young people, especially those who face barriers.
The Resilience Project is near and dear to Manny’s heart. Through art and under Manny’s creative direction, Rockland County youth have seen that by tapping into their own resilience, they, too, can overcame obstacles and succeed at whatever they choose to do.
The Resilience Project was chosen to give young people an opportunity to connect with one another and express themselves and their own resilience and ability to overcome adversity which has been especially important during the pandemic. Often when people have difficulty putting into words how they feel, they can express themselves through art. Below is a series of photos depicting the concept of "Resilience" as drawn by Rockland youth.
Please join us for The Resilience Project opening on Friday, December 17, at 1pm at BRIDGES on the second floor of the Palisades Center (opposite the parking garage) where the paintings will be on display along with a special edition Resilience Project T-shirt created by artist Manny Santana of New York is a Nationality featuring resilience and a compilation of all the paintings. T-shirts will be sold in our store, Independence Café – A Unique Boutique, with proceeds to go to future community art projects.
Click the "i" in the lower left corner of the gallery for more information about each piece.
Tips for navigating the virtual gallery:
"Guided tour" will take visitors around at a set interval, while "enter exhibition" will allow visitors to move at their own pace. If the exhibition option is selected, we recommend using the "list of works" feature in the upper right menu to jump to a specific piece.
