We would like to thank all the friends and loved ones of the amazing Carole Moses Harman who have made donations to New Urban Arts in her memory. A founding Board member and lifetime advocate of young people and the arts, New Urban Arts would not be what it is today without Carole Harman’s commitment and dedication to arts education. We are forever grateful to her!

Longtime mentor, alum, and current art teacher in the Providence Public School System Kedrin Frias writes:

I met Carole Harman in my freshman year at Central High School, when I was sent on an errand to deliver some supplies to her classroom. I immediately fell in love with her class. It was what I describe as a “Jungle of Art.” You had to climb around and dodge drawings and paintings in order to get in and out of the room. I quickly asked her if I could transfer into her class. She said to me, “don’t be late… I hate that,” and her second stipulation was “you have to take it seriously… no screwin’ around in my class.” Then she smirked and sent me on my way. That moment would change my life in so many ways.

I began taking her class, and would continue to do so for the next 3 ½ years. Along the way, she chose me to be part of a select group of students who really wanted to pursue art. She made us into her “AP Art Class.” Ms. Harman was tough on me and the rest of my art class. We were a funny mix of under and upper classmen who really wanted to be there and become artists. She constantly encouraged us and put a lot of faith in us to be able to do anything that she asked of us. Often times this meant difficult assignments and weird assignments that we couldn’t understand until way after we were done with them. She pushed our boundaries, and expected the best out of us at all times. When she said, “Good Job,” you knew you had earned it. We loved her, and she loved us.

She would later introduce us to New Urban Arts. My class was the first consistent group of students to exhibit work at what was called “Project New Urban Arts” then. We had two public exhibitions and received citations from the mayor on both occasions. She was proud of us and made the effort to encourage us to be proud of ourselves.

Today I am a full time elementary school teacher in the city of Providence, and this would definitely not be so if I hadn’t been the student of Carole Harman. She taught me to be ok with making mistakes, to do my best, and that it’s ok to start all over sometimes. These are lessons I pass on to my students today and forever. I am forever thankful to her and changed by the relationship I had with her. She is a great example that “no significant learning happens without a significant relationship.”