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Credit Robert Vinci

Publicolor founder Ruth Lande Shuman welcomed guests at her home in celebration of Cuban-born artist Carmen Herrera.

A mural by the 102-year old artist was recently painted by Publicolor students at New Yorks public school MS 244 (New School for Leadership and Arts) in the Bronx.

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Credit: Robert Vinci

The art project was part of Publicolors mission to engage high-risk, low-income students, ages 12-24, in a continuum of intensive, design-based programs to encourage academic achievement, college preparation, job readiness, and community service.

Ms. Shuman articulated the importance of extending art-making practices into the lives of underprivileged children who otherwise would not enjoy the enriching joy art can engender. She said, “Our goal is to bring the power of visual beauty to communities who experience little of it.”

 New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito spoke on the significance of bringing art to all communities, including her own in the Bronx. The Whitney Museum of American Art, which recently exhibited Herreras work, sent curator Jennie Goldstein to speak on Carmen’s late acceptance as a major figure in both abstraction and minimalism. Tony Bechara spoke about his personal appreciation of Herrera, an artist whose fame only recently reached its zenith.