Meet Aneudy Alba!
Relationship with New Urban Arts: Resident Artist Mentor, Alumni
Aneudy was born and raised in Providence Rhode Island. He has taught art afterschool to middle school students from Paul Cuffee and Highlander Charter Schools. He served as a CityYear Senior Corps Member from 2009-2010 and also served as an AmeriCorps EDTAP (Expanded Day Teaching Artist Project) Teaching Artist at Providence City Arts in 2010-2011.
He has been an active member of New Urban Arts for close to a decade. He began as a high school student, and in 2006 as an alum became a member of the Student Recruitment Team and served on the pilot year of New Urban Arts youth leadership council, the Studio Team Advisory Board, which he Chaired the following year in 2008-2009. This is his 5th year as an artist mentor.
We interviewed Aneudy and asked him to share with us how he got started with New Urban Arts. Here’s what he said:
How did you first hear about New Urban Arts?
I first heard of New Urban Arts while still in high school. I attended Classical High School in the early 2000’s, and would often see really interesting, funky looking people coming and going. My curiosity got the best of me and I started to ask around. I learned that it was a place that I could make art, so I bit the bullet and decided to cross the street and visit. The rest as the say, is history.
How long have you been involved with New Urban Arts?
I had attended New Urban Arts as a student for most of my high school experience. The year after I graduated I became a member of New Urban Arts’ recruitment team, tabling at different schools and events and spreading the word of NUA. The following year I was on the pilot program that would eventually become known as S.T.A.B., short for the Studio Team Advisory Board, where we as students would help plan and volunteer at different studio events and be active participants in the mentor application process as interviewers. The next year, I was S.T.A.B. chair, leading meetings and personally facilitating different goings on the studio. I left briefly and did two years of service with AmeriCorps at two different service sites. When I returned to the studio there was nothing else to do but Mentor. I was reluctant at first, having had mentors who set the bar so high in my personal experience, but ultimately decided to go through with it. That was five years ago, so I’ve been around for a bit over a decade now. I even pre-date most of my fellow staff!
What’s something that you think makes New Urban Arts stand out from other organizations?
New Urban Arts stands out to me from other organizations in that it’s a place where students have almost complete autonomy. It is very much a student driven place. The youth here don’t need to ask for adult permission, we are here to help them make and realize their ideas & artwork. You don’t raise your hand, my title isn’t Mister: this isn’t school, and so the rules are different. We provide youth the space to make, grow, and learn from experience. Mistakes are learning opportunities, and students own their creative practices. It truly is a diverse space where vastly different people come and interact with one another, our community is genuine in a way that is hard to describe in words, you just have to see it.
What was the last adventure you chose to go on? What did you do?
As a collector, going on the hunt for objects is always an adventure. My last adventure found me hunting and purchasing a rare pair of Nike Air max 90’s in my ever so rare and elusive size of 11.5, but it was a success and they live happily in the collection when not on my feet.
Why do you support New Urban Arts?
I support New Urban Arts because they support me. They always have, and I don’t see that stopping now. I have been fortunate enough to now be on the other end of this relationship, giving back by being a mentor. It’s a good relationship.