If you told Juan Carlos Alfaro as a kid growing up in the late 80s that he’d have a career as a graphic artist, while helping youth do the same, he wouldn’t have believed it.
Growing up at that time in North Long Beach —in a working-class household—the idea of being a professional artist was not encouraged by his parents. They saw art as a hobby, not a “real career” where Alfaro could make money.
Despite the challenge, the self-taught artist kept the dream of making art a profession alive and currently works as the senior production artist at Mitchell & Ness, a nostalgia sports apparel company.
Wanting to be the source of encouragement for others that he didn’t have as a kid, Alfaro created the Creative Flow Art Youth Mentorship, which motivates youth to pursue a career in art.
“I [wanted to be] someone that could actually go out there and tell [the kids] ‘Hey, you can actually make a living off this and you could be an artist,’” Alfaro said.
The free hands-on program focuses on youth ages 14 to 24 with a passion and/or talent in art.
For six Saturdays this summer, the group of 16 participants will meet at a Long Beach park and hone their skills in order to undertake three major screen printing projects.
Their first project is the creation of artwork for t-shirts—three designs based in the city of Long Beach. The second involves creating socially conscious designs for tote bags.
Already, those in the program have been able to flex their design skills. A photo shared by Alfaro on Instagram shows a work in progress by a youth in the program designing a trucker hat with a blue shining diamond.
Although the summer session is currently underway, the program will be back in the fall. Spots however are limited.
Years in the making: Art Youth Mentorship comes to Long Beach
For Alfaro, teaching the program is not new. He ran different iterations of the mentorship in the past, meeting A Future Superhero and Friends founder Yuri Williams in the process.
With similar goals in mind, the two began collaborating two years ago and the art mentorship became part of Williams’ organization.
“We just want to make an impact in the community and uplift these children,” Williams said. “Let them know that they have somebody they can talk to.”
At the first summer session in late June, a young girl caught up to Williams and thanked him for the opportunity to be in the program.
“I didn’t know this was gonna be this much fun,” Williams recalls her saying.
For Williams, who has spent years uplifting children, there’s no more rewarding feeling.
“That’s what I want to hear, kids coming back and saying, ‘Thank you for helping me during this program or helping me succeed in life,’” he said.
Success is at the top of the goal list—the program aims to eventually get the kids into the art world, whether in the apparel business or other avenues—something that Alfaro has been able to accomplish with three program participants.
Speakers from local Long Beach businesses, such as apparel shop Barrio, are lined up to show the youth what a job in the industry looks like.
For their second session, a representative from local screen printing business The Trend Machine will be teaching youth how to screenprint.
If there’s a heavy focus on apparel, it comes from Alfaro’s over 20 years of experience in the industry.
Those in the program have also had the opportunity to experiment with cameras donated by Fuji Film in order to capture their surroundings.
The program is sponsored in part by Long Beach Transit. In late July, they will donate vouchers for some of the older participants who don’t have a ride to a session.
Additionally, the program is sponsored by the Long Beach 7th Grocery Outlet and the Arts Council for Long Beach.
“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I even would have lifted this off the ground,” Alfaro said of the Arts Council. “They’re actually a huge reason why I’ve kept the program in Long Beach. If more community members would get behind us a little bit more, I think the program would just grow.”
Approximately 20+ years into his artistic career, Alfaro credits having someone to believe in him as motivation. That someone is his mother.
Today, he says, both his parents are proud.
“Part of me doing this program is not only to educate the kids and help them, it’s also to educate the parents,” Alfaro said. “[Saying] ‘Hey, your kid is really talented, you should really support them just as much as you would support someone that plays sports.’”
To keep up with the Creative Flow Art Youth Mentorship and for future mentorship spot openings follow @creativeflowarts on Instagram. To keep up with A Future Superhero, follow @afuturesuperhero on Instagram.
