Collage of eight individuals, including women and a man, in various outdoor settings by water and city streets, some taking photos, others posing or working.

Public Art Fellows

Summer Fellowship Program

Overview

PAF is a competitive paid fellowship for young local artists who wish to elevate their craft through guided workshops and mentorship. The program started in 2017 and ran for three years.

During this six week intensive, the selected participants learned from their adult mentors and visiting artists how to develop concepts, produce their videos, edit, and critique each others’ work.

Collage of eight people and a puppet, including a person in a daisy-patterned shirt near water, a girl talking on a phone, a smiling man with glasses, a person in a puppet costume, a girl with a camera next to a building, a wife in black and white, and a girl with a camera by rocks at a lake.

Public Art Fellows 2019

The PAF’19 educational program, Video Arts Boot Camp, invited the fellows to use their video talents to create work ranging from documentary to conceptual installations. Fellows explored downtown New Haven, interacting with public art and developing a video program that engaged the history of transportation in the city: its rivers, roads, and railways. In addition to local video artist mentors, visiting professionals discussed their own art practice, and helped fellows develop their work to new levels. A community celebration in September showcased their video installations and all the work these talented young artists created during the summer.

Meet Our 2019 Fellows!

Woman in orange clothing with tinsel headband looking through a camera.
A young woman with shoulder-length dark hair, smiling and resting her chin on her hand, sitting indoors near a staircase.
A young person with curly hair wearing a daisy-patterned jacket and a bicycle helmet, standing by water.
A young woman with long blonde hair, glasses, and a big smile standing in front of a white door.
Close-up portrait of a young woman with curly hair smiling outdoors with a blurred green background.
Smiling person with short curly hair wearing a black shirt standing against a plain light-colored background.
A young person with light skin, blond hair, wearing round glasses and a striped shirt, standing against a plain light-colored wall.
Smiling young woman with light brown hair wearing a sleeveless blue top, standing in front of a white door.

Henry Slomba

Aliya Hafiz

A young woman with long brown hair, smiling, wearing an off-the-shoulder dark blue top and a silver necklace with a small pendant.
Portrait of a young person with short dark green hair, wearing a dark patterned shirt and layered gold necklaces, standing in front of a textured abstract background.

Gabby McGovern

Nora Whalen

Marielys B.

Jahnise Bennett

Sofiya Hafiz

Stella Martone

Sasha Cohen Cox

Nadia Ferrer

The Mentors

Profile of a young man wearing a dark baseball cap and a patterned button-up shirt, looking to the right, with blinds in the background.

Matt Stevens - Project Manager

A woman with dark, curly hair looking down, wearing a navy blue top, sitting on a light-colored couch.

Nicki Chavoya - Mentor

A young man taking a selfie with a black cat with yellow eyes.

Sean McElhenney - Mentor

Poster for Public Art Fellows 2018 featuring a sketched illustration of diverse young women, some with color accents, and names of the fellows listed below in stylized script. The poster includes text indicating it's presented by Site Projects / New Haven, titled 'Comic Anthology 2018,' with the illustration by Sara Zunda.

The PAF’18 educational program, Cartoons + Comics, invited fellows to use their cartooning talents to tell a story.  Fellows toured downtown New Haven, exploring public art and developing a story that engaged a favorite artwork or several artworks in the city.  In addition to a local cartooning artist-mentor, a digital comic book artist-mentor discussed the art of developing exciting narratives that keep the pages turning.  A community celebration in August showcased the comic books of these young talented artists.

Public Art Fellows 2018

Site Projects would like to thank the following for making PAF'18 possible:

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

NewAlliance Foundation

All of the generous donors who supported us through this year's Great Give

Three musicians performing outdoors on a brick-paved area. One person is playing keyboard, another singing into a microphone, and a third is sitting behind a drum set. Public Art Fellows 2017

The “Public Art Fellows 2017” (PAF’17) program was a summer fellowship organized by Site Projects that brought together young artists from across New Haven to explore public art, storytelling, performance, and community history through collaborative creative work.

Students created performances and artworks inspired by the history of the Route 34 corridor, transportation, displacement, and community memory in New Haven. Projects included spoken word, jazz, dance, visual art, vocals, and collaborative installations.

The fellowship included 14 students from schools such as:

  • Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School

  • Wilbur Cross High School

  • High School in the Community

  • Educational Center for the Arts

  • The Foote School

Public Art Fellows 2017

Testimonials

“This gave me confidence in my ability. I feel like I can call myself an artist now.”

Destiny Jones, PAF’17

“From a young teen’s developing point-of-view, this increases one’s understanding that possibilities can take place anywhere. This is a powerful experience. What you do is wonderful. Thank you.”

Marta Violette