Artivism.
Artivism maximizes the perspective-changing potential of activism art for young people to drive change.
We do this by building a platform for budding creators to gain publicity.
We share artivists' (artist + activist) stories and processes.
We connect their work with relevant organizations or causes to boost reach and impact.
Why bother?
Art is a indispensable force for change:
Exposure is critical for activism art that:
Youth, stakeholders of our future, face barriers:
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Martha Rosler's House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home (1967-72) confronted Americans with the reality of the Vietnam War.
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The AIDS Memorial Quilt (1987-) raised awareness of the lives lost to HIV/AIDS.
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Barbara Kruger's Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground) (1989) propelled the fight for reproductive rights.
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Ai Wei Wei's installation of 14,000 life jackets used by Syrian refugees (Safe Passage, 2016) urged governments to support the displaced.
Just to name a few, potent imagery and symbols transcend our differences. Art appeals to our shared humanity—it makes us care. It transforms bystanders into advocates.
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raises awareness for a cause
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sparks empathy and perspective-taking
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uses powerful imagery too articulate a sentiment or belief
In other words, activism art needs to be visible and ubiquitous to garner impact.
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It is difficult and unlikely for young artists to show in the art world.
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The institution can be alienating for a those who are still experimenting.
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Pipelines like youth art contests mostly select works based on technical skill, without much focus on concept or social change.
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An online platform is much more accessible to the public.
As young artists, we decided to take matters into our own hands
Meet our team.
Katherine Chong
Founder and Director
Katherine is currently a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall, where she is a part of the Visual Arts Concentration Program. She is a 2024 YoungArts Winner with Distinction in the Visual Arts; she also attended the 2023 RISD Pre-College program concentrating in Art and Activism, where her work was exhibited at the Woods-Gerry Gallery. View Katherine's Artist Profile here.
Fun Fact: Katherine is particularly fond of daydreaming, dappled sunlight, public transportation, mystery novels, and the color of lapis lazuli.
As a fervid maker-of-things, Katherine dreamt up Artivism after stumbling across her collection of artworks (conceived to change people’s opinions on social issues) shelved away in cardboard boxes upon completion. She felt that her efforts could finally mean something and reach someone if a broader and more diverse audience could see them. Inspired by art21, Katherine designed Artivism as a way for young artists to showcase their work and generate momentum for societal change.
Quinn Farmer
Head Projects Manager
Passionate about all things art history, Quinn decided to put her organizational and management skills to use to help young artists through Artivism. Always fascinated by art, she joined Artivism to get involved in the visual arts world and hopefully make an impact by helping young artists.
Quinn is currently a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall. Studying abroad in her sophomore year in Rennes, France helped Quinn discover her passion for humanities and languages. She is in the John F. Kennedy Program for Government and Public Service. Caring deeply about humanities, political science, and education she does a laundry list of tutoring including English second language, French tutoring, and tutoring for middle schoolers at the local public library. She hopes to further her studies of art history in the coming years!
Fun fact: Quinn prefers letters to texts and keeps in touch with friends around the world as penpals.
Sophie Park
Marketing Director
With a passion for psychology, athletics, and the arts, Sophie aims to explore how her different worlds co-align with one another. When Katherine told her about Artivism she was immediately inspired and applied to join the team. Growing up juggling many different extracurriculars, she wanted to help people with passions to be able to have easy access to showcase their works, so that they could be able to accomplish things beyond their imaginations, whether art or activism related, or not.
Sophie is currently a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall, where she is a part of the Wellness Committee which manages student welfare on campus, and the Judicial Committee adjudicating honor code violations. Additionally, Sophie works with the Admissions office running tours as a Gold Key Leader, and plays on the Varsity Soccer and Ultimate teams. She is the inaugural recipient of the Evan J. Reed ‘79 Award.
Fun fact: Sophie’s favorite activity is to explore new foods and try new restaurants. She hopes to travel the world for new cuisines.
Rielle Reyes
Project Manager
Rielle is a student who has always been interested in various STEM fields.Whether it was Chemistry or Coding it has always been her strong suit. Along with her passion for STEM, Rielle enjoys exploring the world of art. From a young age, she has been experimenting with various mediums of art, including painting, watercolor, crocheting, and digital arts. She has always found comfort in art and sees it as an outlet of expression. Currently, Rielle is a freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall. She is a member of the Art Club, where she can explore different art forms. Additionally, Rielle is a member of the Choate News Design Team, where she helps create and design graphics for the school newspaper. She is also involved in Artvism. She believes that Artvism is a great opportunity for artistic students to gain art publicity in a competitive world. She also believes that it is a great way to shed light on artists who want to generate needed change.
Fun Fact: Rielle enjoys making crepes and looking at different constellations.
Scarlett Park
Project Manager
While her strengths lie in STEM, Scarlett is a lover of the arts, and a big believer of change. Scarlett’s long-time hobby of drawing helps her appreciate how art can harbor many thoughts and emotions. She wishes to show how everyone can bring activism into art, and how change can be a form of art itself. Scarlett hopes that by joining Artivism, she can use her love of art to bring awareness about social justice issues to her peers.
Scarlett is currently a freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall. She is a part of the Art Club, as well as the JV Soccer and Archery teams. Her most consistent artistic hobby is drawing (both traditional and digital), she has many years of experience in multiple types of dance. Scarlett has explored different types of art over the years, including painting, crocheting, knitting, resin, sewing, photography, music, and many more.
Fun Fact: Fog and rain are Scarlett’s favorite types of weather, but she prefers nights to be clear so she can see and take photos of the moon.
Isabelle Jiao
Marketing Agent
Learning music at an early age, Isabelle started playing the piano and singing at a young age. Once she was comfortable with music, she started painting as one of her main pastimes. In addition to the arts, she competitively swims and enjoys learning about everything science related. With her passion for trying new things and her love for art, she decided to join Artivism to help encourage young artists to use their talents and hard work to make a positive impact and change.
She currently attends Choate Rosemary Hall as a sophomore and was a member of the Illinois Ambassadors of Music Program in 2023. She is also a member of the Varsity Swim team, Chamber Choir, A Cappella, SYNK dance team, and Gold Key Program. In her free time, she continues to practice her skills and strives to improve and find different ways to express herself through the arts.
Lucy Domingo
Marketing Agent
Growing up in the Philippines, Lucy grew up with art all around her. One of the first books she recalls reading was 13 Artists All Children Should Know. Since she was young, she has had the privilege of traveling around the world and the art museums in them. Her upbringing has also instilled a need in her to help the less fortunate around her. Both of these passions have manifested into working with Artivism. Lucy is so excited to be able to contribute as part of the inaugural Artivism team and looks forward to using art to change the world!
Lucy is a sophomore at Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in Connecticut. In her spare time, she enjoys interning at the Choate archives and spending time with friends. Her favorite class is Art History.
Fun Fact: Lucy’s favorite museum is the Prado Museum in Madrid.
