Community

Every quarter we grab a few of our RAWartists and head over to the Boys and Girls Club in Burbank to teach art workshops.

We're excited about the opportunity we have to interact with, instruct, and support these growing future artists! Hear and see what the kids learned live, through song, dance and art, on December 17th at the Music Box in Hollywood for RAWards 2010, where they will put their creativity to work in a special performance! The Boys and Girls Club youth will also be painting the trophies which will be presented to the RAW:artists winners on the night of. 

Thanks to: Ben Hoffman (photography workshop); Alice Issac (led singing workshop); Raul Acuna (guitar workshop); and Venessa Milan of Groovaholix (dance workshop) for their time, talent, and heart for teaching! 

And, of course, special thanks, kids - for an amazing time and for the constant reminder of what art is actually about! 

RAW loves the Earth. Join RAW and Green Wave at our next showcase at the Maya Hotel on Thursday, April 22nd for a special celebration of Earth day through a night of art, entertainment, and eco-friendly education. 

We, at RAW:natural born artists, don't just promote artists. Since our start, we've been trying to find different ways we can also promote eco-awareness. We've worked hard to make sure that all of our showcases and events are planned, promoted and produced eco-friendly by substituting the printing of flyers with online promotions (and good ol' word of mouth), as well as purchasing carbon offsets annually (www.carbonfund.org) in efforts to cancel out any carbon pollution our guests may create by attending our events. We also host our web site, email server, and data files on 100% solar powered energy provided by www.solar2web.com. And sure, while these efforts are still minute compared to the things we can be doing, they are steps. And our hope is that they inspire our supporters, friends, and artists to start figuring out their own ways to contribute to restoring our earth.

And that is why we've teamed up with GREEN WAVE for our "Earth and Art" showcase. GREEN WAVE is a dynamic, eco-awareness 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded and run by Green Girl Guru, and RAW Eco director Janine Johnson. Dedicated to establishing precedents for change and redefining activism, their mission is to inspire waves of change by creating examples focused on living consciously, peacefully, and harmoniously with the environment and with each other for the well being of our planet. Through various charity projects (i.e. sending kids to school, providing eco-education, saving sea turtles, forming an electronic music alliance, and assisting in the funding of eco-developments) GREEN WAVE assists individuals and businesses in strategies of—not only how to incorporate sustainability (always starting with personal mindfulness) into daily activities and practices but—how to inspire others to do the same. 

Join us, along with The Green Bag Lady, Soy Pure, and a handful of other eco-vendors, on Thursday at the Hotel Maya (a green hotel), where we will celebrate the Earth and the artists in it. There will be a film screening, a fashion show, a musical performance, art gallery, and give aways. GREEN WAVE will infuse our event with eco-vendors, products and services. 

We ask that you make efforts to carpool, walk, bus, or bike to our fabulous event! 

RSVP here. 

On April 8th, TOMS shoes is hosting "One Day Without Shoes." They are asking people to go the day, part of the day or even just a few minutes barefoot, to experience a life without shoes first-hand, and to spread awareness of the impact a simple pair of shoes can bring to a child's life.

As a RAW family, we'd like to participate. 

If you haven't already heard of them, TOMS (founded in 2006) is a shoe company that, for every pair of shoes purchased,  donates a new pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. Since their beginning, they have given over 400,000 pairs of shoes to children all over the world. 

April 8, this Thursday, is their annual One Day Without Shoes. It's a day of awareness by action. They ask people to go about their daily lives, but do it with no shoes on. Currently, TOMS has over a thousand events and at least 30,000 people registered to participate by going barefoot. 

RAW is excited to be apart of it all and will be incorporating One Day Without Shoes into our showcase this Thursday. If you do not feel you can be barefoot the entire night, do not feel pressured. Maybe just commit to an hour and make sure to talk about why you're standing barefoot. Again, this is just a fun activity that can provide major awareness to audiences that otherwise will not be reached!

RAW loves the Boys and Girls club!

Art was such a big part of my own personal childhood and development. And perhaps that is why it saddens me so much to see music and the visual and performing arts being cut from school budgets. Whatever RAW can offer (even in a small way) to keep children actively creating and expressing, we're happy to contribute.

And I'm happy to report back after RAW's day in Burbank and say that our series of workshops at the Boys and Girls Club in Burbank was fantastic. A Poet Named Ali drew a crowd of starstruck kids waiting for an autograph after his dance class. Photographer Vincent Martinez let his students try their hands at the operating the camera and snapping their own images. And I led a painting exercise, where I encouraged the young artists to paint as they were led by music.   

Our day spent with these kids reminded me of what it was like to be uninhibited, perhaps because, when I myself was uninhibited was when I was at my peak as an artist. And this event is only one of many to come. We hope that as a large family of artists, we can come together and make efforts to affect future generations of artists.