Artribe: making a change through student creativity

Art portrays the symbiotic relationship between humans and the world around them. Each form of art has the ability to present the idea of social and political change in a way that is unique and different from one form to the next. Artribe Los Angeles proves to be a perfect example of this united relationship.Artribe, an annual student-run gallery event, allows high school level visual artists and musicians to sell artwork and perform pieces with the goal of benefiting The Spiral Foundation, a registered non-profit corporation that finances humanitarian aid projects in Vietnam and Nepal. Since 2007, Artribe has raised over $115,000 — all of which have been returned to Vietnam and Nepal to fund a panoply of necessary medical work on children in those regions. Many Samo students in past years have either been on the board of Artribe or submitted work to the pivotal organization.Each year, private and public high schools across Los Angeles appoint representatives who scout out talented artists from their high school, urging them to submit pieces to Artribe. Once the pieces are collected from all of the schools, the team of representatives discuss art pricing and gallery layout. According to Artribe Los Angeles 2015 Co-Leader and Marlborough High School student Caspian Alavi-Flint, each piece is priced differently.“We base it on the quality of the submissions, which means taking into account the time it might have taken to produce the work, if it is a print or a physical piece, if it’s framed and the materials used to create the piece,” Alavi-Flint said. “It’s generally a very difficult task to take on, so we usually have two or more people pricing with each other.”For Alavi-Flint, Artribe has become a space where she can not only collaborate with other creative teens, but also a space where she can further her development in working with others and transforming her ideas into actions.“I feel as though Artribe serves as a means of bringing like-minded thinkers together,” Alavi-Flint said. “There is something very special about working closely with people towards a common goal.”Miles Holland (’16) has submitted his pieces to Artribe for the past two years, and has enjoyed being part of such an important cause.“I submitted to Artribe because I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to both show my art in a real gallery setting, and receive great feedback,” Holland said. “I’m planning on submitting again because it is such a beautiful space, and the money that is generated when my art is sold is going to such a great cause.”In addition to preparing for the final gallery opening at the end of the year, Artribe members have been working on expanding Artribe into a place where all forms of high school art can be showcased through a new side-project entitled “ArtribeTV.”“Artribe TV is a new YouTube channel where we will be uploading video interviews with different student musicians and artists about what it is like growing up in Los Angeles as an artist,” Artribe representative Carter McNeill (’16) said. “Our whole goal this year is to transform Artribe from being a small group of teenagers who plan the Annual Gallery Event into a year-long all-encompassing group project.”Artribe Los Angeles 2015 will take place on May 9, 2015 at the Santa Monica art gallery on Airport Avenue. Students of all different levels of experience are encouraged to submit to their school’s representatives.“When this group of teenage art representatives comes together from all parts of Los Angeles once a week, it’s not only about creating a close knit community amongst ourselves, but really focusing on that end goal of making a positive change in a city across the globe through art,” Alavi-Flint said.