Mission

WHAM's mission is to develop safe spaces in underserved communities for youth and artists to convene, learn, create and perform.

About WHAM

The Washington Heights Arts Movement (WHAM) is a non-profit organization established in 2010. The program is composed of a diverse collective of established artists, educators, and entrepreneurs who are committed to offering arts education and mentorship to creative youth and young adults between the ages of 8 to 28. With WHAMs' strong mentorship component, the goal is to encourage students to explore their talents and use their voice and works to positively impact their communities. These themes are the foundations of this budding organization.⇓

In addition, WHAM prides itself in exposing their students to positive, highly educated and carefully selected instructors to help fill the gaps in artistic programming that the Washington Heights community seems to be lacking. WHAM mentors provide guidance, inspiration, and support to the youth. They encourage them to develop their various talents, pursue higher education, and personal enterprise to lead to more successful lives.⇓

WHAM mentors relate well to students because many of them grew up in similar environments, such as, single-parent families, broken homes, english as a second language, feeling the impact of poverty and violence, or, encountering uncertainty regarding their own futures. By sharing their own stories, strategies, struggles, and successes with students - mentors provide a platform for the youth to envision and plan for their own futures. WHAM mentors have achieved varied levels of success in their artistic and professional endeavors, and, they share their experiences with our youth as a catalyst to help them journey beyond what they imagined possible.