SGIA Member Donations Support Fresh Artists

Fresh Artists, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, is dedicated to providing access to art supplies and innovative art programs for children in low-income schools throughout the country. By providing a lifeline to the arts, Fresh Artists instills a sense of empowerment in every student and fosters creative self-expression. Each year they host their Cool Jobs Expo, giving middle school students the opportunity to meet and talk to professional adults who were able to turn their love for art of all sectors into — you guessed it — a “cool job.” Cool jobs, or even jobs at all, aren’t on the forefront of the minds of young Philadelphians. They live in a city where 52 percent of children drop out of school after eighth grade — a statistic Barbara Allen, Founder and President of Fresh Artists, has been trying to change. Allen and her son, Roger, have worked tirelessly to keep art in public schools struggling with massive funding cuts by offering large format reproductions of kids’ art as thank you gifts to donors who donate money to purchase art supplies for classrooms with empty shelves. The SGIA members’ donations of printers and media are one of the main reasons Fresh Artists has been able to deliver more than $800,000 in art supplies and programs to needy schools in eight years. On a rainy day in Philadelphia, a group of women roamed through an industrial warehouse where Cool Jobs would commence in only a few hours. Booming thunder clapped overhead, resonating through the ceiling and walls, but the deafening sound didn’t distract them from their mission. They were learning how to guide middle school students — approximately 600 seventh graders over the course of just three days — through various presentation booths that would introduce the kids to graphic designers, muralists, industrial designers, a syndicated cartoonist, and even digital printers. Professionals like Robb Armstrong, a cartoonist and creator of the JumpStart comic strip; Jason James, a graphic designer; and Roger Allen, a digital printer and co-founder of Fresh Artists, would show these students their cool jobs and how to get one. Making Connections At Barbara’s first SGIA Expo in 2011, she wasted no time introducing everyone on the trade show floor to her mission. She was able to connect to companies such as Mutoh, HP, Visual Magnetics, Sawgrass and more, and they were captivated by both Barbara and the children she supported. These companies immediately jumped in and began donating equipment, software and media so that Fresh Artists could expose young students to the industry as well as produce wide-format reproductions of selected children's art for their cooperate art program.  During the 2017 Cool Jobs Expo (March 27–29), Fresh Artists Co-Founder and Creative Director Roger Allen printed a former student’s work on a donated Mutoh ValueJet Hybrid 1608, using Ergosoft’s donated RIP software, and printing on media donated by HP. “How does it know where to put the ink down?” asked a boy in the front row. “How much ink is on the paper?” asked a girl in the back. “Is the ink still wet when it comes out?” asked another. Roger eagerly answered their questions and invited the students to touch the image. “Here, you can take this home on the bus with you,” he said as a student took a selfie in front of the ValueJet. Spreading the Word Through Beautification TrafficWrapz, another Fresh Artists partner, also participated in the 2017 Cool Jobs event by wrapping traffic cabinets and city structures live, using their new TW360 super laminate and conformable laminate technologies. TrafficWrapz developed this exclusive patent-pending technology with their partner, DuPont™, and it offers advanced UV protection, chemical and graffiti resistance and self-cleaning properties to protect prints for years, even in the toughest climates and environments. It also allows the ability to print various designs — including an entire portfolio created by Fresh Artist students — and apply it to graffiti-prone objects and city eyesores. All of these applications are protected with an exclusive laminate that allows future graffiti to be wiped off easily with common cleaners — saving cities and municipalities thousands of dollars, all while beautifying their community.  “TrafficWrapz is proud to donate the super laminate film to Fresh Artists so [the students] can take their artwork to a new level,” said Dan Gittere, Executive Vice President and co-Founder of TrafficWrapz. “We also partnered to feature Fresh Artists children’s artwork to cities and municipalities across North America for licensed use. We’re beautifying traffic cabinets but also allowing these young artists to get seen.” Gittere met Barbara Allen at the SGIA Expo, and their relationship instantly flourished. “We do a lot of work with Visual Magnetics. We were in a brainstorming session and they told us we needed to meet Barbara,” said Dan. “We stayed in contact, and it was the perfect opportunity to solidify our partnership. If it weren’t for SGIA, we wouldn’t have met.” Donations like these help Fresh Artists advance and empower more children. It provides a pathway for children to experience the graphics industry. When you see Barbara Allen in the aisles of the SGIA Expo, her passion and commitment prove that. One of the mottos of Fresh Artists is that sometimes “you cross paths with someone and they change your direction.” The collaboration between SGIA’s charitable member companies and Fresh Artists certainly will change the direction of young students in Philadelphia and throughout the country. 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