IndyKids Voices

What’s it like to work at a museum? What obstacles does someone with a big job face? Why is it important to make monuments of real people who are alive right now? What is some advice for kids who love to draw and want to be an artist someday?

IndyKids reporter Noel interviews Amy Andrieux, the chief curator and executive director of MoCADA, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. 

Amy talks about the many jobs she’s had in her life, and about MoCADA and its role within the community. She takes us on a mini tour of Kholisile Mazithulela Mufari Dhliwayo’s Brooklyn Bronzes, which can be found in the MoCADA Ubuntu Garden in Brooklyn, NY, and gives advice to young artists.

BONUS: Listen to the end to find out what Noel and Amy’s favorite anime is!

DISCLAIMER: This interview took place outdoors in Brooklyn in October 2024…please excuse the NYC street noise!

For more information about MoCADA, visit: https://mocada.org/

For more information about IndyKids, visit:
indykids.org

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

Listen to IndyKids reporter Grace Stevens read her recent article, "The Way We Dress: How Dress Codes Can Be Connected to Systematic Racism and Sexism."

You can find the text version of this article and many more by visiting IndyKids.org.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

Have you ever experienced a farm and a school put together? IndyKids reporters interviewed Jessenia Preciado, the Far Rockaway regional coordinator at Teens for Food Justice. Teens for Food Justice fights food insecurity by growing leafy greens including lettuce, cilantro, basil, parsley, Swiss chard and bok choy in hydroponic farms located inside public schools. This interview has been edited for clarity and
brevity for print. 

To learn more about Teens for Food Justice, visit their website:
https://teensforfoodjustice.org/

To learn more about IndyKids, including information about how to donate or get involved in our programming, visit indykids.org.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

Lara Bergen is the founder and director of Press Pass NYC, which is an organization that helps New York City public schools create and maintain their school newspapers. In the past 2 ½ years, Press Pass NYC has helped create 19 school newspapers in middle and high schools.

More about Press Pass NYC:
Press Pass NYC’s free programs are all in service of helping New York City public schools start and sustain a successful school newspaper program in a comprehensive way. Unlike outside-school opportunities for individual students, Press Pass NYC’s focus is on creating journalistic value and opportunities for the entire school community, enabling schools to create a culture of appreciation for journalism and student voice through a school newspaper; training teachers to lead a credit-bearing course as well as advise a school newspaper program; and engaging students in authentic, project-based, community-centered learning that they would otherwise never experience.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

4th graders from P.S. 117Q in NYC explore the power of art. They reflect on their own ideas about art and interview Carlos Mateu, a painter, mural artist, poet, dancer, and teacher.   

Support IndyKids by visiting us at IndyKids.org.

Special thanks to Ms. Perry, Mrs. Maraj, Carlos Mateu, Claudine DeSola, and Groundswell!

Music by Adrian Moring.


About Carlos Mateu:
Carlos Mateu was born in 1970 in Havana, Cuba, and has resided in the United States since 1997.

He defines his style as Pop Geometric.  His paintings fuse elements of cubism with realism, using straight lines and perspective to create a geometric and three-dimensional effect, while subtly deforming the images. 

His subject matter incorporates surrealism, symbolism and mysticism to reflect memories, dreams, his life in the United States and his own creative perspective on the world around him. 

Currently Carlos keeps painting, writing poetry (décimas), exhibiting his art, performing, and teaching art and popular Cuban dances for various organizations in New York City like Groundswell Community Mural and City Lore.

About Groundswell:
In 1996, a group of New York City artists, educators, and activists founded Groundswell with the belief that collaborative art-making combines personal expression with the strength of community activism—and produces unique and powerful outcomes.

Twenty years later, 500 murals have been completed by Groundswell, working with youth and teaching artists in collaboration with hundreds of community-based organizations, neighborhood groups, and government agencies throughout New York City. The collaborative process behind these compelling artworks demonstrate our enduring belief that art creates community and community creates change.

Our five hundred murals in all five boroughs are only the final product of comprehensive youth, community and artistic development initiatives. We strive to infuse these initiatives with elements of social justice and activism to amplify the individuals we interact with daily.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

IndyKids reporter CJ interviewed Shakira Barrera, a Nicaraguan-American actress and humanitarian. You can catch her playing a role in the upcoming Marvel series, Ironheart.

They discussed her career, the challenges of being an actor, representation in Hollywood, Shakira's humanitarian efforts, and advice she has for young people who want to be actors.

Theme music by Adrian Moring.

Visit IndyKids.org to find out how you can participate and support!

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

Which planets are hot? Does a planet made of diamonds exist? Why hasn't there been an astronaut on the moon for 50 years? Has a spaceship ever flown near a black hole? Are humans treating space as badly as we're treating our oceans? Students at the Gillen Brewer School interview Dr. Erika Nesvold and ask her all of these questions and more! 

Visit IndyKids.org to learn more about our newspaper and educational programs!

About Dr. Erika Nesvold:
Dr. Erika Nesvold is an astrophysicist who has performed astronomy research at NASA and the Carnegie Institution for Science. She is now a developer for the astronomy video game Universe Sandbox. Erika is the author of Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space, and co-founder of the space ethics nonprofit the JustSpace Alliance.

She can be found on Twitter and Instagram with the easy-to-find handles @erikanesvold. JustSpace can be found on Twitter @justspaceorg and on Instagram @justspacealliance.

Audio recordings by Áine Pennello, and IndyKids' executive director is Isis Phillips.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

IndyKids reporters from P.S. 117Q in NYC explore the power of kindness. They interview Malachi Coleman, a 4-star football player from Lincoln, Nebraska who will play for the Nebraska Huskers next year. Because of his own experiences in foster care, Malachi founded Fly Like Chi, a foundation that brings sports and arts to children in foster care. Listen as IndyKids fourth graders go through the process of preparing for and conducting their interview, and reflect on what kindness means to them.

IndyKids is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that creates a newspaper and podcasts for kids, by kids. 

Visit IndyKids.org to get a newspaper subscription, or donate, or to find out how you can volunteer or participate in a workshop!

Visit Flylikechi.com to support Malachi Coleman's foundation.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

IndyKids reporters Charlotte and Lucas interview award-winning writer and environmental journalist, Antonia Juhasz, about her path in climate reporting, how she centers activists and impacted people in her coverage, and what gives her hope.

Key terms to listen for:

Solutions journalism
Inequities
Fenceline communities
Climate disaster
Food and fisheries
Climate
Expert/expertise

Discussion Questions:

1. How did Antonia start covering the climate crisis?
2. What is solutions journalism?
3. Why does Antonia prioritize women⁠— – and women of color specifically⁠— – in her reporting?
4. What kinds of expertise does Antonia look to highlight in her reporting?
5. What are some of the challenges Antonia has faced in her journalism career?

Credits:

IndyKids Reporters – Charlotte Osoria and Lucas Muñoz Jetmore

Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips, and Julia Thomas

Edited + Music by Emily Löwinger

Audio Mentor – Jo Corona

Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo

Additional Music by Emily Löwinger

Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez

Special thanks to Emma Gaffney and Jo Corona

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

IndyKids reporters Cayzlen and Maliyah interview activist Jackie Fielder about her experiences organizing against the Dakota Access Pipeline and her role in the divestment movement happening in San Francisco.

Key terms to listen for:

Ancestral territories
Reservation
Treaty
Tribal citizen
Renewable energy
Divestment / disinvestment

Discussion Questions:

1. What led Jackie to become a climate organizer?
2. Why does Jackie want the city of San Francisco to stop doing business with big banks?
3. Why are pipelines so dangerous?
4. What specific kinds of renewable energy does Jackie want to replace fossil fuel power?
5. What does divestment have to do with civil rights?
6. Why does Jackie say we need a cultural shift in order to fight climate change?

Credits:

IndyKids Reporters – Maliyah Ledesma and Cayzlen Rodriguez

Produced by Emily Löwinger, Isis Phillips and Julia Thomas

Edited by Emily Löwinger

Audio Mentor – Julia Thomas

Show Intro Music by Luca Cantagallo

Original Artwork by Cayzlen Rodriguez

Special thanks to Emma Gaffney

We’d like to thank The New York Community Trust and Wolf Family for their support.

Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!