The other night, I was hanging out in the same room with Naomi Campell, Helen Marden, Alek Wek, Frederic Fekkai, Marina Abramović, and Julian Schnabel -- I couldn't really grasp why I was there, but there I was, in my Suno jumpsuit and Chloe Sevigny-designed boots, along with Arden Wohl, Theo Wenner, and various Schnabel offspring. We all gathered in the home of gracious host Jacqueline Schnabel to raise awareness and funds for the World Bicycle Relief, which produces sustainable bicycles in Africa, immediately impacting everything from education to health care to the environment. There is so much poverty and disaster in the world, where do you start? Everyone, no matter what country or neighborhood, could use a little instant gratification.A few weeks ago, I hosted a dinner party at the home of quirky artist/designer couple Scott Taylor and Sylvia Heisel, so my friends and I could gather and gawk at the brilliant installation in their apartment. I happened to meet the son of Publicolor founder Ruth Shuman, who is trying to provide a little instant gratification for New York City's underprivileged kids. I emailed Ruth, because I liked the sound of what she was doing, and we set a date to meet on a Saturday morning. She told me to "wear clothes that can get dirty." As a Bard graduate who majored in sculpture, I had this outfit in the bag.
Ruth picked me up bright and early outside of Russ & Daughters, where we got a bagel for me and a coffee for Ruth. I hopped in her red Jeep and we headed over the bridge to Brooklyn. Both of us wore paint-splattered jeans, though hers had several more years of stories than mine. Ruth founded Publicolor after learning about the appalling annual rate of high school drop-outs. Her organization brings a team of artists and volunteers into neglected public schools, where along with some of the students, they paints the school's interiors and exteriors to help revive the soul of the institution.
As we pulled up to this particular school, in a neighborhood that might make most people uneasy, I felt excited to meet the kids and paint, but I really did not know what to expect. I introduced myself to everyone, then wrote my name on a piece of blue tape and stuck it to my L.L. Bean smock. All the kids who were there that Saturday are in Ruth's mentoring and college prep programs. They are there because they choose to be. My student partner for the morning led me down a hall and showed me where my painting station would be. I was instructed to paint the doors turquoise and my partner would paint the walls a hibiscus yellow. She told me she wanted to be a veterinarian, that she does well in school. She talked about the importance of working hard. I was inspired by her ambition, and it was so awesome to see so many kids there who shared the same enthusiasm.
A few days later, Ruth told me about an other school being Publicolor-ized that was just a few blocks from my house. Though a little sore from my first Publicolor bicep work-out, I was still game and happy to participate. It was 3:15 in the afternoon and school had just let out. It was hectic in the courtyard and I walked right by the security guard, into the school and up the stairs. I was expecting that same enthusiasm from this group of kids that I'd seen from the kids at the other school, but this group was much smaller, only about six kids, and I immediately got the sense that these kids wouldn't be giving up their Saturdays any time soon. We got all the supplies, set up the painting station, brought out a radio and got to work. The girls started to ask me what I was doing there and why. I told them that I thought it was really cool what Publicolor is doing, and that I lived just a few blocks away. I could tell they questioned my motives, but were curious, too. They kept asking me questions and I kept giving them positive responses. I could tell that I was getting through to these girls, that they were really listening to me. And that gave me my does of instant gratification, I hope it gave them some as well.
Whether your Jacqueline Schnabel hosting a dinner, Ruth Shuman taking a hands-on approach to changing the future, or a student who is effected directly by his or her own an act of curiosity, instant gratification never felt so good.