LeRoy Neiman Art Studio at Eastside College Preparatory School
March 4, 2015On February 26, 2015, the Eastside College Preparatory School, of East Paolo Alto, CA, dedicated the LeRoy Neiman Art Studio at Eastside Prep, a 900-square-foot space within the school dedicated to arts programming.
For the hundreds of school children who will pass through the studio for years to come and who have no space in their school dedicated to art, it’s a pretty big deal. Floor space to work on easels. Wall space to show art. Cabinets, for storage. Tables, measuring 20 feet, where students can work. And the truly boring stuff that makes creating art easier: stools, drywall, paint, plumbing for new sinks. All the prosaic stuff that someone moving into a new house wouldn’t waste a moment thinking about and that kids from poor neighborhoods dream of.
MBH Architects did the design. W.L. Butler performed the construction. The students will benefit, under the exceptional guidance of teachers from the East Side Preparatory School, of East Paolo Alto, CA, who have guided students to a graduation and college admissions rate of 100% – no mean feat. “The LeRoy Neiman Art Studio at Eastside Prep stands just 5.2 miles from Stanford University,” said Steven Bond, president of the LeRoy and Janet Neiman Foundation. “It’s a short trip but an unimaginable distance for many of the school children who live in this area. Thanks to the great work of Eastside Prep’s staff and faculty, and the fearless determination of its students, there is a bridge from this terrific school to Stanford and many other great educational institutions throughout this country.
The space will provide daily art classes for students from the sixth to 12th grades. It will be a place where students can shut out other concerns – whether academic or personal – and simply let go, just as LeRoy Neiman did when he held pencils in one hand and a sketchbook in the other.
The LeRoy and Janet Neiman Foundation continues his wish to help those who have little and may be able do more than anyone can imagine.
The LeRoy Neiman Center, established by the Good Tidings Foundation at East Side Preparatory School, of East Paolo Alto, CA, continues the spirit of an artist who wanted to give back to kids who could develop talent, as he had done.