Hi, my name is Ashley Clemente. I love Art Share because you always get to do what you want like dance, art, singing and acting. And everyone works here as a family so you can talk about problems with someone; they’ll listen to you. I like the kindness of Art Share and it’s just a really good place.

Greetings, serene viewers, and welcome to Good People, Good Works. This week’s show is the second part of our two-part series on Art Share Los Angeles, a wonderful non-profit organization located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, California, USA. Art Share operates a community-based arts learning center whose goals are to change lives among the area’s underprivileged and provide a safe shelter and workplace where both emerging and established local artists can exhibit and perform.

Art Share is a community center, it’s an art incubator, and what we do is we provide free art classes for low-income teens, anything from painting, to hip-hop dance, ballet, jazz, spoken word, film classes, graffiti art, mosaics. And we recently have a recording studio, so we are teaching kids how to record their own music.

I like art because it’s a good hobby. You get to figure out the beauty of it, and sometimes when you really pay attention you can find that you’re a good artist and you can paint beautiful stuff.

More than just a place to meet, Art Share’s classes provide an opportunity for young artists to thrive and feel free to express themselves in a rewarding environment.

Art Share let me change because I used to be really shy when I was small. And then, dancing and doing art, allowed me to communicate with people better, and have an understanding of people, because I meet people from different backgrounds, and I get to know about people around the world, and I also learn how to respect my elders, and respect my peers as well, and how to work together as a group.

Hi, my name is Catherine Yamez. I love Art Share because they teach you one by one, and that Art Share is more like your family; they treat you like it. I love Art Share because we go out to places and I love dancing and singing.

The family-like support provided by Art Share helps students learn self confidence and empowers them to open up and freely communicate their thoughts and concerns.

Kids are really passionate and they have really deep feelings about a lot of things that you can see in the artwork. They’re concerned about the community, they are concerned about nature, and what we are doing to the air and Earth. They have a lot of concerns about the society that we’ve created and how they fit into it.

So, it’s a part of saying, “You (kids) are part of the society, we do care what you think. I know, we don’t always ask you, because we forget.” But you have to speak up and being more confident and doing that, it helps you figure out where you belong.

I had one kid that he took an art class, and he just became so enraptured with the art class that it totally changed his life. He graduated high school and he’s now going to Pasadena City College and he’s a law student. So, it really can change your life. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to become an artist, but it will help you grow.

Danyol Jaye has been involved with the entertainment industry since he was seven years old. He is currently the administrative assistant and events coordinator for Art Share.

When I first got here I was the student and so I got the support as a student

Art Share really cultivated something and they reminded me that, no matter what it is that you’re going through, if you have no money, if you’re homeless, whatever, we’re here. They continued to remind me that you always have someone that you can trust. You always have someone here that you can talk to. You always have someone here who is willing to help you with any resources that we have.

There was a point in my life where, as much as I love singing and anyone who knows me knows that singing is my passion, there was a point where I just didn’t want to do it anymore; I didn’t want to push. And when I got to that point, Art Share and the people at Art Share, Tracy Kelly especially, started giving me performing opportunities and said, “I have someone who wants to hear you sing.”

And just by her doing that and by the people that were here at the time, just by them coming and supporting and saying, “You sound great, you were wonderful, I want to work with you,” it really, really changed my perception on what I do. And Art Share reminded me that “You are important.” You are already a star, everybody else is just taking a while to figure it out. They literally helped me to know that I have purpose.

Art Share has been my safe haven and now that I’m not a student, that safe haven that was there for me, I get to help that become a safe haven for somebody else.

The only thing that I would add is that I, at the deepest of my heart, in the very depth of my heart and soul, I wish and I pray daily that people truly understand how important art and music and creativity is in the lives of teens and adults.

When we return, we’ll learn about how Art Share is helping foster cross-cultural understanding in the US. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

I’m David Estrada. I love Art Share because it’s a home. I learn to open up with people through art and dance, and it just helps me grow as a person.

Kids who grow up through art and music, they will be different people (with) different thinking and they will share that love and give to the world peace, humanity and culture.

Welcome back to Good People, Good Works. We’re visiting Art Share, a splendid non-profit organization in the Arts District of Los Angeles, California, USA that uses the arts to help transform the lives of young people.

Art Share is a gallery that’s brought a lot of kids from Los Angeles classes in photography, art, music, helping them in their education, helping them in their schooling, teaching them art, teaching them how to color, and teaching them how to dance.

A recent exhibition hosted by Art Share was entitled “Artists & Art of Mesopotamia in Los Angeles.” Its highlight was the works of Chaldo-Assyrian artists from Iran and Iraq that Iraqi-American artist Paul Batou has collected over the years. It was a joyous cultural event that celebrated diversity.

We have some art pieces from Iraqi kids who lived in Iraq. They joined the American kids to build a bridge of love and peace through art, music and poetry.

I sent some art supplies to the school there(Iraq), and the kids sent back to me 14 pieces of art. The dreams of all kids are the same around the world; a dream of having family, home, security, school and to practice art, music, poetry, and sport in peace; that they can grow and contribute to the world’s well being.

When I told them we will exhibit their art, they felt so happy, like somebody will look at their dreams and will look at their hope as if like a big message was being sent to the public of the United States of America. These kids are the same as any kids around the world. They have the same dreams. They need homes, they need families, they need medicine, they need food, they need hobbies, they need music, and they need art.

As an artist, I feel art is important for all the kids. Art will help them be more creative, help them dream, and they’ll have more thoughts. Art will help you even in your academic studies. So these kids after school, they come to Art Share to learn dance or music or art or photography. This is what helps them in the future. Art and music will help to create a good mind, a beautiful mind.

Together, the community of Art Share creates a loving and heartening environment for the city’s youngsters to thrive and prepares them to become the best they can be in life.

We’re a family and we all really love each other. And I’m a hugger. And we all learn that you come in, you give me a hug, you go to class. Yes, we are a big family. I love to see the kids grow up and change, and take responsibility and leadership roles. They go from not speaking and hiding under the big hood, and the head down and not looking at anyone in the eye to really communicating with you, looking you in the eye, and sharing how they feel. I really like to see that.

I love Art Share because they’re a great non-profit organization and they’ve helped me out a lot… finding my inner self. It’s really great being here; it’s like a whole new family. And I just love Art Share. It’s a place to come and settle down and feel like home.

I want to say “thank you” to Saria, who is my poetry teacher. Thank you to Liz, who is my Jazz - Hip Hop teacher. Thank you to Eddie J., who is my other teacher of Jazz and Hip Hop. And also thank you to Daniel J., and Tracy, and Amanda, and, there’s a lot of people to name, I just can’t name them all, but I really want to give thanks to everyone, because they’ve all been there for me, and especially Martha, she’s one of my biggest mentors around, and thank you, and I love you guys.

Our thanks go to all of Art Share’s staff and volunteers for their benevolent work that brings the uplifting arts to various communities in Los Angeles, California, USA. Their loving kindness has constructively touched and transformed the lives of countless youth and families.

Thank you, Art Share, for making me the person I am and for teaching me each skill I have and developing the successful person I know I will be in the future.

For more details on Art Share, please visit ArtShareLA.org

Generous viewers, we enjoyed your presence today on Good People, Good Works. Up next is The World Around Us, after Noteworthy News. May we color the world with our divine artistic nature.

And I just pray that people really start to support and start to recognize that we need to encourage our teens and young adults, and I think if you don’t know of a place that does that, Art Share is one of the best places that you can come and see, the product of what we do and support us for having great students.

Thanks to the unwavering, loving efforts of International Animal Rescue, which is based in the UK, 600 wild bears in India have been liberated from being forced to dance for so-called entertainment.

The bears are looked after, inside our sanctuaries, and we have a commitment to those bears for the rest of their lives.

Meet members of International Animal Rescue, the recipient of the Shining World Compassion Award as well as Shining World Hero Award recipient Susie, a caring canine, Thursday, June 17 on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants.