Noah Purifoy Foundation Urban Arts Initiative
Markham Middle School students and Side Street Project Teaching Artist pose in front of Noah Purifoy’s “San Fransisco Oakland Bay Bridge” art piece at the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum in Joshua Tree.
In 2023, Side Street Projects partnered with the Noah Purifoy Foundation to launch the “The Urban Arts Initiative: Noah Purifoy Assemblage Art Program.” This program is a middle school-based curriculum that connects South Los Angeles students to the rich history of the artist Noah Purifoy, an important figure of the assemblage art movement in Los Angeles.
The program encompasses three key components facilitated by Side Street Projects Teaching Artists: an in-class presentation detailing Noah's life and artistic works, an all-day field trip to the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum of Assemblage Sculpture in Joshua Tree, and an in-class assemblage art project where students create their own piece.
This initiative utilizes Noah’s philosophy of creativity as a tool for students' creative, intellectual, and emotional growth. It also bridges the gap between the past and the future by connecting young students to their community’s history and how it influenced Noah.