Spotlights
Spotlight on Creativity
August 2008
August's spotlight on creativity is creative professional Josette Bonafino. Josette is Executive Director of Multicultural Youth eXchange (MYX), a Philadelphia-based, nonprofit organization that works to increase tolerance among young people worldwide by using art-based projects to explore diverse cultures and social issues relevant to all youth. Founded in direct response to the tragedies of September 11, 2001, the non-profit believes that culturally-sensitive youth are the hope for a future society free of intolerance.
In July 2008, MYX led a five-week workshop for 50 Philadelphia students, entitled "Silence Youth Violence." The purpose of the workshop was to examine the root causes of youth violence and explore poetry as an instrument of social change. During this program, students screened relevant films, studied the spoken word art form, participated in group discussions and wrote individual and group poems - all in preparation for their final collaborative art project.
The end result of their collaboration is the CD, Young Voices Against Violence. It was created with lyrics and beats written entirely by the students in the program. Funding was provided by Philadelphia Youth Network.
Image: Young Voices Against Violence, CD by MYX Youth Against Violence.
Josette Bonafino
Firm/company:
Multicultural Youth eXchange
Title:
Executive Director
Current Location:
Old City
Hometown:
Philadelphia
Favorite Philadelphia neighborhood:
Old City
Best advice you've ever been given:
Make sure you don't let a man dictate your path in life.
Your favorite thing about living in the Philadelphia Region:
The tremendous diversity.
Why own a company in Philadelphia?
There are a lot of creative resources and a lot of young talent in Philadelphia. In addition, there are plenty of resources available to start a business.
How would you market Philadelphia to professionals outside the region?
Philadelphia is diverse in people and creative job opportunities. We are an edgy city, which makes us interesting. Professionals are able to carve their own creative niche in the Philadelphia market without having to deal with the expensive cost of living and competition that you would find in larger cities such as New York.
What advice would you give to young professionals trying to break into your industry?
Non-profit organizations are difficult to work for and there are a lot of emotional ups and downs. You must be willing to stick with it and realize not to expect immediate, tangible results. Working for a non-profit organization has long term benefits that you can't necessarily see up front.
To learn more about Josette's work in the region, visit: http://www.myxworld.org.
Receive a copy of the CD with a $10 donation to MYX. For more information, email Josette at josette@myxworld.org.