In January 2015, I was invited by Nung-Hsin Hu of the New New Yorkers program of the Queens Museum to design and facilitate a hands on art activity for children whose parents were attending the Chhaya CDC Sixth Annual Homebuyers fair.

For this activity, I decided to invite the children to make drawn and collaged mandalas that would represent their ideas of self, family, home and community. I thought that by making this type of work, children could echo their parents desires for home owner ship and the creation of a strong community. One of my greatest hopes for this art activity was that students would articulate their own visions of family, home and community which could then be part of their own conversations with their parents.

From this event , I cherish the level of the children’s engagement with the art activity. It was great mirror of the importance of home and community in the life of a child.

Paul Lambermont