Fresh Artists presents our latest innovative initiative - COOL JOBS!
The Cool Jobs Mission is to:
- Introduce almost 600 at-risk sixth and seventh graders to people doing real jobs they didn’t know existed.
- Show them accessible paths to these jobs in the creative economy.
- Encourage them to stay in school and choose the best-fit high schools and colleges.
- To provide a resource through the Handbook given to each student with hundreds of afterschool, weekend and summer creative opportunities from organizations around the city.
The fifth annual Cool Jobs will be held March 31 through April 2, 2020 at the “Moulin” event space at Sherman Mills in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. This stunning, huge event space will be set up in trade-show format with booths for presenters and information about special career themed high schools, local and regional universities, and art and design colleges. The young teens will meet, in small groups of around 15, with successfully employed artists, chefs, fashion, furniture and game designers. digital printers, photographers and other creatives, and learn what it takes to find A JOB TO LOVE FOR LIFE. Cool Jobs is firmly entrenched as the cornerstone of our mission. We invite everyone to be a part of it.
52% of Philadelphia's creative kids with astonishing potential are at risk of dropping out between 8th and 9th grade, before they even make it to high school. Artistic teens are often told, “There aren’t any paying jobs for artists.” HOGWASH!
Look around. Someone designed the office chair you’re sitting in. The $300 Nike sneakers your kiddo has to have, the LEED Platinum building you work in, the set of dishes you bought at Crate & Barrel. The need for green design is taking off and designing prosthetics and adaptive devices is fascinating and meaningful work.
THREE DAYS =
A MILLION NEW IDEAS
Cool Jobs shows young teens amazing, attainable career options. COOL JOBS is a 3-day pop-up expo, with original funding from the James L. and John S. Knight Foundation, bringing successful working artists, chefs, artisans, art therapists, photographers, designers, and digital printers, and makers together in one place to demonstrate their work to creative teens. We invite students from Philly, Chester, Norristown and Camden low-income public schools to learn what a typical day is like for someone working in a creative field.
The message: You don’t have to starve to be an artist. You DO have to have a dream, stay in school, pick the best-fit highschool, take advantage of after-school, weekend and summer art class opportunities, and work hard!
There are lots of cool jobs out there that you can love for life.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
We’ve selected and interviewed terrific professionals working in the creative economy to talk informally about who they are, what they do every day, and how they found their awesome job. They will demonstrate their tools, technology, creative process and show finished products to small guided groups of around 15 teens. NO SPEECHES, JUST CONVERSATION. Student groups will rotate to another presenter every 20 min, meeting a total of 5 people during their Cool Jobs session, and getting a ton of interesting, useful information to take home!
FREE PROGRAM - FREE BUSING
Fresh Artists provides private bus transport for each group of 42 sixth and seventh grade students to and from Cool Jobs, for either a morning or afternoon session. Each student will meet 5 fascinating professionals plus their Guide, who is also someone working in creative endeavors.
- Tuesday, March 31
Morning Sessions: 9:30am to 11:30am
Afternoon Sessions: 12:15pm to 2:15pm
- Wednesday, April 1
Morning Sessions: 9:30am to 11:30am
Afternoon Sessions: 12:15pm to 2:15pm
- Thursday, April 2
Morning Sessions: 9:30am to 11:30am
Afternoon Sessions: 12:15pm to 2:15pm
Each bus is met by trained Guides, who divide the kids into small groups, and remain with their group for the entire session. We do a short on-site survey at the end of the experience to capture the teens' responses and measure the impact of our program.
FOLLOW-UP PROJECT
Each student leaves with a 48-page keepsake quality Cool Jobs Student Handbook that includes bios on all the presenters, information on all regional speacial themed highschools, after-school and community art programs, as well as local and regional colleges and universities and art schools. During an in-school post Cool Jobs session, each student is guided through how to determin their own interest and what creative careers might suit each of them using the 16 page mini-curriculum contained within the Cool Jobs Handbook. This personalizes and reinforces their experience.
We have assembled a team of stunningly successful people – doing what they love every day. People who want to inspire kids to stay in school, find the best-fit high school and pursue their dream.
But first they have to have a dream!
Meeting these people can change children’s lives. This 100% Free Program will introduce kids to new ideas, new people, new aesthetics, new technology, and new possibilities for changing their life trajectories through conversations with these caring and interesting professionals.
A JOB TO LOVE FOR LIFE
We've all heard,
Artist's Starve.
Here’s the truth.
"There has never been a time in history when there were more opportunities for creative people to make a living."
- Barbara Chandler Allen, Founder, Fresh Artists
Well, we’re tired of this being a well-kept secret. We decided to create a space where kids at this critical turning point can meet fascinating, dynamic, successful people who wake up everyday excited about their purpose and potential. Making things and creating change.
The Space: Cool Jobs.
We’re betting many kids leave Cool Jobs with a dream . . . “I wanna be a (fill-in-the-blank)”. A dream that will keep them in school, choose the best-fit high school, graduate and pursue their dream for a successful job to love for life.
Cool Jobs is a roaring success! Please support Fresh Artists in bring the dreams of almost 600 students to life by becoming a Cool Jobs sponsor!
REALLY FUN SPONSORSHIPS!
Help us throw 600 city kids a lifeline!
We need your help to make this a roaring success. We are looking for corporate and individual sponsorships for almost everything that is nailed down or mobile! We invite you to be sponsor who believes fiercely in Cool Jobs as a major educational innovation and impactful intervention.
Click Here to download the Sponsor A Dream brochure (12.1mb PDF)
We invite you to join the following donors & advisors who believe fiercely in Cool Jobs as a major educational innovation:
COOL JOBS ADVISORY COUNCIL
Adam Aquino - BEHR Paint
Jeff Ashley - Jefferson University
Carol Bailis - Wells Fargo
Barbara Bassett - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Antonio Black - Industrial Designer, Toys and Pet Products
Ted Borowsky - Foster KeenCut
Jackie Buhn - Athenian Razak
Nicole Carville - Haworth
Robert Chaney - Institute of Contemporary Art
Donna Cooper - Public Citizens for Children & Youth
Karin S. Copeland - CreateXChange
Heather Coyne - philafad, University of Pennsylvania
Susan Miller Davis - Architect / Public Art
Joe Deetz - Visual Magnetics
Sammy Sitarski - Brulee Catering
Rosemarie Fabien - Fabien Communications
Donna Frisbee-Greenwood - Fund for the School District of Philadelphia
Susan Frostén - Jefferson University
Lyn Godley - Lyn Godley Design Studio
Elizabeth Grimaldi - Fleisher Art Memorial
Christine Hartley - Rhode Island School of Design
Douglas Herman - Rough Cut Productions
Jason James - Fig, Fresh Artists Board
Barbara Klinkhammer - Jefferson University, College of Architecture/Built Environment
Christine Kochevar - Clutch
Frank Lee - Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University
Kelly Lee - Chief Cultural Officer, City of Philadelphia
Michael Leonard - Academic Dean, School of Design & Engineering, Philadelphia University
Maud Lyon - Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
Tricia Trainor Monsell - Interface FLOR
Jim Pasquerella - Avison Young
Karen Randal - Retired, Director of the Office of Business Attraction and Retention,
City of Philadelphia, Department of Commerce
Jaime Salm - MIO
Michael Spain - D2 Interiors + D2DA Architects
Gretchen Suess - Netter Center, University of Pennsylvania
Charles Thornton - Charles H. Thornton & Company LLC
Jason Varney - Varney Photo
Felicia Wallace-Benton - Daltile
Jerria Williams - Author
"I'm going to be an Architect someday"
" I'm going to design cars for a living!"
