A former foster child opened an art gallery thanks to help he received through Foster Pride when he was younger. He's now paying it forward to others.
A former foster child opened an art gallery thanks to help he received through Foster Pride. Chantee Lans has more."So the water goes up and cycles back down," said Onyedika Chuke, artist, and owner of the Storage Art Gallery.
Chuke showed off a fountain made by his student. He is an art and business professor at Columbia University and owns a gallery in TriBeCa."So age 11, housing projects, you get like bangs on the door. The cops come in. It's the four of us, they just come in, put you in a paddy wagon," Chuke said. He was separated in Far Rockaway, Queens, from his sisters, shifting from foster homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to the Bronx.
"Somewhere through that, I started making more art. It sort of became a way of seeing myself through," Chuke said.The non-profit gives current and past foster kids a chance to express themselves and earn a living through art.While homeless, the school gave him $5,000 to open his first of three art galleries.His journey and triumph still touch him today."Yeah, in many ways," Chuke said. "I think so.
Chuke's reach goes beyond the walls inside his gallery. His work inspires other members of Foster Pride.ALSO READ |
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