Michael Aghahowa is an alumni of RAW Art Works in Lynn, MA. Writing on the Adobe blog, he shares that, having gone through RAW’s program, he now wants “to be a mentor for kids who were in my same situation. [He] want[s] to show what art can do, and how valuable it is to have support from others.”

He starts his story by observing that we all have people that we look up to. “For me, that was the big brother of my friend who would let us tag along to these huge block parties at an organization in our neighborhood called Raw Art Works. I would see kids drawing everywhere. They were all working on making stuff together. Everyone was so happy and cool to each other. I thought it was incredible. I ran up to someone and asked him how to get involved. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Ultimately, he joined the RAW community and was pushed to reexamine why he makes art and the role that it plays in his life. “Over time, thinking critically about my work opened my mind to make me realize why I was making things,” Michael says.

Read the full article here.

Photo credit: RAW Art Works, Lynn, MA