+Scholarships > Art Education Program
Since 2002, the Martin Wong Foundation has supported an Art Education Program for high school art students, coordinated by Sandra “Lady Pink” Fabara. She worked with students at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens, New York, for 12 years, completing murals and public painting projects. In 2014, Fabara moved to upstate New York, where she has collaborated with regional artist collectives and high school students.
2020
The coronavirus pandemic interrupted — but didn’t stop — Lady Pink’s work in 2020. She first met virtually with a group of students from New Paltz High School (NPHS) multiple times, planning and coordinating how they could make it happen, plus figuring out a design. She completed the project with about a dozen students all distanced and masked up. The students were eager to have their voices heard through this project, which took place at the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Lady Pink and her students faced resistance from some members of the town board during the process to approve this design. The students never backed down though, and persisted to be able to say what they wanted through their mural design.
The teacher chaperoning the high school students was New Paltz High School art teacher Mr. Martin, who couldn’t have been more excited to see his students fighting for a voice.
2019
In April of 2019 Lady Pink worked with Dr Kahn and roughly 24 students from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School to design and execute a city-block-long mural located at the Kaufman Astoria Studios Easement space. (Pink has worked with this school and Dr Kahn for about 18 years.) Each student had an individual space to themselves, to showcase their own artistic skill using their own designs, approved by Lady Pink and the management at Kaufman Studios.
The town of Gardiner, NY hosts a “Gardiner Day” in September where those who live in the town are able together and enjoy food, music, artisan and craft vendors, activities, and performances. In 2019, Lady Pink led a mural painting project where anyone in the community was welcome to come and join in on the painting of a mural. The design was made and drawn onto the wall by Lady Pink in such a way that each color had its own distinct place. It was almost like a large-scale page from a coloring book for each person to paint one color at a time. The mural was fully completed in one day thanks to all those who helped out from the Gardiner community — about 50 kids and an equal number of adults.
2015
After moving to upstate New York, Fabara created new connections with local artists and schools, creating public art projects in Gardiner, New York, and with Wallkill and New Paltz High Schools.
2013
In 2013, Fabara and Frank Sinatra School for the Arts students created "Home is Where the Fantasy Is," a mural in Astoria, NY, and "Welcome to Flushing," in Flushing, NY. They also made paintings once again for Project Sunshine.
2011
In 2011, Fabara continued her work with students who created paintings for Project Sunshine, which coordinates the installation of student art in hospitals around the world. She also worked again with Immigration Advocacy/Community Anti-Crime to create a mural in Queens, on a wall coordinated by Antonio Meloni of Immigration Advocacy. The mural they created, “Welcome to Astoria,” is the largest they have ever created. As usual, the high school students were joined by other volunteers, including local artists, at-risk youth from other programs, and alumni of the Frank Sinatra School.
2010
In 2010, Fabara using funding from the Martin Wong Foundation as well as Project Sunshine Org., Community Anti-Crime, and Amtrak to work with students and alumni from the Frank Sinatra School as well as students from Iowa State and Columbia University on two murals, “Great American Art and Culture,” and “The Native People,” both in Queens.
