Brenda Perez, SHG Summer Intern, on S.O.Y. Artista

My name is Brenda Perez. I participated in the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’s Agency of Assets Youth program, which allowed me to become an intern for Self Help Graphics and Art. I am now an upcoming junior at John Marshall Senior High.

Throughout my employment period with Self Help Graphics and Art, I was able to learn different art mediums and understand the importance of bringing a variety of art techniques to youth and the importance of having access to art to express yourself and social issues. I was also able to obtain work experience with the organization which was such an amazing opportunity.

In my first week on the job, I was introduced to the Self Help Graphics and Art team, and they were all very welcoming and supportive. We then headed to the site where they hosted their S.O.Y Artista summer camp.

S.O.Y Artista is a program that provides our youth with accessible art materials and one-on-one instruction. This program is something that one should check out if you're a youth interested in learning different art mediums, I highly encourage participating if you fit the qualifications. At S.O.Y Artista I would help prepare for the week by setting up materials as well as helping the teaching artist throughout the week. I would help the morning class which is the youth 11 through 14. The Self Help Graphics team let me participate in the program as well and I had so much fun. 

When I began my employment period S.O.Y Artista had already started. I started the internship in the third week of the program, in which we learned sewing and crafted plushies with the teaching artists Natalie Godinez and assistant Sabrina Koenig. In the fourth week, we sculpted ceramic statues with teaching artists Connie Mendoza and Izzy Jaquez. In the fifth week, we experimented with creating  linoleum prints  with Yaneli Delgado and Brenda Llamas. Learning many new  art styles was inspiring. I was also inspired to see that the youth were able to have fun while  expressing social concerns through their artworks.

Something that always stood out to me was how each teaching artist was so passionate about what they would teach. That’s something I love about art is that when you take passion with what you do then your artwork comes out amazing. 

I'm extremely grateful to Self-help Graphics and Art for this amazing opportunity. Everyone on the team was very nice and I'm thankful for all the connections I've made through the organization. I had an amazing experience being able to work for Self Help Graphics and Art. It is so impressive and inspiring to see how they strive to give back to their community through the programming and events they offer.