Aanya’s 4-year-old sister Leela shows off her own art. Aveline, right, with dad Ken Krayeske and her drawing of her house. What does home mean to you? For 10-year-old Aanya Wason-Sawhney, the answer’s easy. Home is nature. Aanya lives near East Rock and said that she goes hiking ne arly every day. “If I were anywhere else,” she said, “it would feel different.” Aanya is part of a group of young artists whose artwork depicting their concept of home is now on display at City Hall. The exhibit, which will be up for two weeks, is titled “New Haven: This is Home.” It is made possible thanks to a collaboration between the Fair Rent Commission (FRC) and the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA). On Thursday, Aanya and her fellow artists were joined by their family members, city officials, and YCBA representatives to showcase their art. At a press conference to kick off the event, speakers included Mayor Justin Elicker, FRC Executive Director Wildaliz Bermudez, city arts director Sha McCallister, YCBA Director Martina Droth, and city Deputy Zoning Director Abdul-Razak Zachariah. Bridgitte Thao, who helped conceive of the collaboration, works at the YCBA and formerly interned at the FRC, the city agency charged with reining in excessive rents. She recalled once tabling with the FRC to discuss tenants’ rights around contesting increased rents — and having paper and art tools for kids to keep busy while the FRC talked to their parents. Thao was inspired and thought an exhibition might be a good idea; she reached out to fellow YCBA staffer Linda Friedlaender, who runs education programming, and the idea evolved into a full collaboration. The public was invited to visit the YCBA in March and kids were given the art materials to visualize what home meant to them. “They’re brilliant,” Thao said of the young artists. “Part of this is about opening up a conversation about what a home is, and what we want a home to be,” said Elicker. Many people, he said, don’t have the home they want — a place that is safe. “How can we push our state and other municipalities to do more,” he said, when it comes to building affordable housing? Aanya, a student at Worthington Hooker School, had drawn a deer under a shining sun and birds, atop a bed of vibrant green grass. Above her drawing, she wrote, “Nature makes me feel at home.” She was joined on Thursday by her 4-year-old sister Leela and her parents Anjali Wason and Hirsh Sawhney. Leela also had her artwork on display: she had drawn the house her family stays at during trips to Rhode Island. “That’s the sun, that’s the pool,” Leela said. The pool was the centerpiece and included a pink figure, maybe Leela herself, in the water. Asked why she chose to draw that house of all things, she said, “Because I miss Rhode Island!” Leela’s masterpiece. Aanya wants to keep making art, as she hopes to be a graphic designer one day. But Leela doesn’t want to be an artist. “It’s really hard,” she said. “You have to show your art in front of everybody.” “You did that already,” her mother, Wason, reminded her. (Although Leela said she isn’t interested in being an artist, she did look at the apple she was holding and say, “I wish I could trace this apple right now.”) Wason said that it was exciting that her children could see their art on display. Their father, Sawhney, agreed. “It’s good to have a reason to visit City Hall,” he said. “I feel proud,” Aanya said. “This wouldn’t happen normally.” Zachariah, who is also a published children’s author, read his book The Night Is Yours to the young artists and their parents. The book is about a girl named Amani who lives in an apartment and spends nights playing hide and seek and watching the moon and stars. Zachariah said he based the book on his and his younger sister’s experience growing up in West Haven. Abdul-Razak Zachariah reads to attendees his own book about home. Eight-year-old Aveline Krayeske-Bermudez, who said that she can see the stars from her own third-floor bunk bed, had drawn her Fair Haven house during both day and night. She initially considered drawing a koala, since she likes them so much. She wound up changing her mind. “I didn’t have enough time,” she said. Instead, Aveline had drawn her house on black paper, though it was split down the middle. One half had birds and the sun, while the other had the moon and stars. “I wanted people to see it in a different way,” she said of her house. Her favorite thing about it in real life is the light blue color and the white door. Still, “Home to me is — it doesn’t have to be a place, right?” At this reporter’s confirmation, she said, “Koalas.” Aveline said she wants to be a lawyer when she gets older. “I’m good at arguing,” she said. And her dad’s a lawyer. But she’s still an artist. She had made a cork necklace for her mom, Bermudez, who was wearing it at Thursday’s exhibition. Asked for her own take on the concept, Bermudez said, “Home is community.” Marion Bates-Jeffreys: “Home to me feels safe. It also feels kind of exciting.” The young artists and their fans. Bridgitte Thao, one of the organizers of the event, on the artists: “They’re brilliant.” Another piece of art by Aveline, worn by her mom. Aanya and Leela’s parents Anjali Wason and Hirsh Sawhney are among around 50 attendees at Thursday’s exhibition. The post Fair Rent Helps Young Artists Find Home appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less