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Dwayne Sealey works on a painting about the Harlem community using tempera and cardboard. |
The Lawrence Scholars Program, established through the support of Jacob and Gwen Lawrence, offers twelve promising young people in New York City the opportunity for intensive study, exploration, and mentoring in the visual arts at Parsons School of Design during their sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. Programming is designed to give the students the skills that they will need to thrive in their pre-college courses and to begin preparing for their transition to college. Mentoring from current Parsons' undergraduates from similar backgrounds and professional artists and designers complements the Scholars' work in the classroom and generates a broader dialogue about academic and professional goals. Students are recruited through partnerships with Harlem-based non-profit organizations and New York City public schools. |
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Deranie Henderson painting the figure model in the Pre-College Academy. |
In summer programming, the Scholars are introduced and oriented to Parsons, New School University, and the cultural resources of New York City. Active fieldwork at sites throughout New York City introduces them to the life and art of Jacob Lawrence, including visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Schomburg Center for Research and Black Culture, where they examine Lawrence's work and the places where he conducted research for his paintings.
In the classroom, students work on narrative paintings that describe their own views of the community and Harlem as inspired by studies of Jacob Lawrence's life and art.
In addition, the Scholars enroll in coursework through Parsons Pre-College Academy. In Drawing and Painting the Lawrence Scholars focus on the human figure, while exploring still life and city/landscape observations. In these courses, the Lawrence Scholars begin to develop the core skills that they will continue to develop throughout the program; these are the requisite skills for gaining acceptance to competitive colleges of art and design. |
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Lawrence Scholar Kodu Sarr outside of the Digital Media Design classroom. |
In Digital Media Design, the Lawrence Scholars are introduced to professional digital media tools and techniques. In Summer 2004, the Lawrence Scholars worked as a team to produce a seven-minute film from the paintings they created in Jacob Lawrence Studies and their visit to Harlem. This narrated film compared and contrasted "Old Harlem with New Harlem" and explored issues of gentrification and cultural identity.
During the fall, the Scholars continue their work in the Parsons Pre-College Academy, studying drawing, graphic design, and fashion design. Events this semester include a kickoff lunch with eight undergraduate mentors, special workshops, excursions to see important exhibitions, and visits to Parsons alumnae in their design studios.
Summer, fall, and spring sessions of the Lawrence Scholars Program and Parsons Pre-College Academy fall courses conclude with a Final Exhibition and celebration of student work with family, friends, teachers and students. Each semester, the crowded classrooms team with guests coming to see eleven weeks worth of rigorous art and design coursework.
Access to higher education in art and design is paramount. Led by the Lawrence Scholars Program, pre-college programs and initiatives at Parsons School of Design continue to expand. The Lawrence Scholars are currently thriving and enjoying the challenges that come with a rigorous investigation of art and design; their academic record is a harbinger of their future success in the art and design professions. Over the next year, mentoring relationships with professional artists and designers will be nurtured and exposure to the cultural resources of New York City will be expanded; these professional connections will further ensure the Scholars' future success as both college students and working professionals.
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