Icahn 1 students’ artwork displayed at Basquiat Project exhibit – Bronx Times

Minyoung Jeong, who teaches art at Icahn I Charter School in the Claremont neighborhood, has transformed an underused computer lab into a bustling hub of creativity — and her students’ work is gaining citywide recognition. 

Two students recently had their artwork chosen for display in the Basquiat Project: Looking Back, Moving Forward exhibition of 85 pieces by young artists at the Barclays Center. Valerie Muñoz and Kalilu Gauko, both 14, were among the thousands who have participated in the project, created in 2020 in honor of Brooklyn artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988). Basquiat was known for improvisational street art that addressed themes around race and class. 

The Barclays Center exhibition was open to the public on Aug. 8 and 9. But on a daily basis, Icahn 1 students say Jeong is fostering a lifelong love of art and providing a welcome creative respite from regular subjects and standardized testing.

Jeong told the Bronx Times she incorporates field trips and initiatives like the Basquiat exhibit to help broaden students’ perspectives beyond the Bronx — and said she is fortunate to have school leadership that appreciates the importance of art in young people’s growth. 

Even if just traveling across the city, “They’re reaching out to a new world,” Jeong said. “They’re gaining their own stories of unity and cultural respect.”

Jeong, who is from South Korea, regularly incorporates her own culture into lessons — along with western and also Jewish traditions inspired by a close family friend who “adopted” the family when they first moved to the United States in the 1980s. Many of Jeong’s students are not Asian but come from African or Latino heritages, and she said she has been amazed at their willingness to learn.

“They could be harsh on me, but they were so open,” she said. 

Jeong has brought in traditional Korean outfits and food and taught students some Korean language, symbols, and art traditions to broaden their understanding. 

For one lesson, Jeong brought in fish from the market, which students covered with ink to make impressions on paper. She told students a Korean tale about a fish that transforms into a dragon after surviving adversity, inspiring Muñoz’s creation selected for the Basquiat exhibit. 

Her featured piece was a fish drawn in vibrant colors that Muñoz said represented “many different sides of me.” At the top of the piece, Muñoz wrote the words “Samo King,” borrowing a recurring phrase from Basquiat’s work — “samo” meaning “same old s—t.”

Muñoz said the task of putting her own spin on Basquiat’s work was “inspiring.” 

“He thought outside the box,” she said. 

‘It’s about connection’

Kristina and Jayla Stamps-Gray, ages 12 and 13, also said Jeong’s art class has helped expand their world view.

The sisters have family members who are Honduran, West Indian and Irish and said that in Jeong’s class, their unique identities are supported while also highlighting others. 

“[Jeong] makes sure you can explore more cultures,” Kristina told the Bronx Times. “We might have our different creative processes, but it’s all gonna result in one beautiful artwork.” 

Jayla, who said she loves Renaissance art, created a Basquiat-inspired piece in Jeong’s class that depicted a magical forest, a light-skinned woman dressed in gold and jewels and a “poor brown boy” covered in scars. Despite the contrast, Jayla said the piece was meant to depict a common humanity. “They can all come together as one,” no matter how different, she said. 

Kristina said that when Jeong showed students art that came out of times of struggle, such as the Great Depression, she felt the power of creativity even more deeply. 

“That shows what art really does to us,” she said. 

It fits with Jeong’s approach, which draws from different traditions and disciplines, including history, science, literature and more. 

“I don’t want to separate everything. It’s about connection,” said Jeong.

At the Basquiat Project exhibit, which temporarily turned the Barclays Center lobby into a gallery of student art, Muñoz said she enjoyed the opportunity to “admire people’s work and get inspired by it.” This was the first time an audience beyond Icahn 1 saw her work. 

“Everybody there had a positive vibe,” said Muñoz.

Muñoz also said the exhibition was something of a breakthrough for her as a young creative. 

The experience “helped me push through what I thought I couldn’t do, to what I can do,” she said. “Art can really open you up to a lot of new things.”