On June 1st, at the luxurious Fairmont Mirmar Hotel in Santa Monica, Free Arts for Abused Children held an Art Works! celebratory brunch in order to bring awareness to their programs, as well as to raise funds for the amazing services and programs that Free Arts provides for Los Angeles communities. Having a cinematic theme, the event featured the collaboration between Free Arts and the New York Film Academy.
Over the winter, the two organizations worked closely together to teach video productions to Los Angeles County youth at the New Economics for Women facilities in Van Nuys. The Art Works! event featured a 5 minute documentary put together by David Nelson and the New York Film Academy Staff. Art Helterbran, Jr., Chair of Filmmaking at the Los Angeles school, also addressed the crowd: chronicling his experiences working for over 3 months with Free Arts and the wonderful time he had working with the Los Angeles’ youth. Art also awarded one of the exemplary students, Christina Thompson, with a one-week scholarship to NYFA’s teen film summer camp.