1) Documentaries
[R.A.R.E “Everyday Heroes”, [Art Beat
2) Team Members’ biographies and videos
[Omar Paulk, [Jonathan Meyers, [Maurizio Rosas
3) Image Gallery
4) Articles (We are currently updating the articles)
5) Endorsements
I met Mr. Perez when I was in sixth grade at Earhart Middle School. I had been struggling in 6th grade. I had always found comfort in my art class because I drew in all of my classes.
I had seen a drawing that Mr. Perez drew of one of my friends, Kelly, and he showed Mr. Perez one of my drawings. Mr. Perez recruited me for his Gifted and Talanted Class after school.
He noticed that I caught on quickly and I started learning techniques that improved my art. I learned about printmaking and drawing portraits realistically.
I started entering art contests like the Ford Motor Company’s Hispanic Heritage Art Contest, the Detroit Public Schools annual exhibit and the NAACP art contests. I began winning first place in all the contests I entered.
Suddenly, school became a place where I found success rather than failure. Mr. Perez became my mentor throughout middle school.
I eventually got accepted to the prestigious Detroit School of Fine and Performing Arts, graduated, and I am currently working so that I can attend college.
We painted murals in the summer so we kept in contact. The mural at Modanna University in Livonia, MI was my first attempt at oil painting. The RARE Foundation made a documentary about us. It has the mural from Madonna University in it.
I met Mr. Perez in sixth grade at Earhart Middle School. He noticed my talent in art and became my mentor since my parents had been divorced since I was five.
I grew up in Southwest Detroit where gangs have taken over different neighborhoods. I have seen violence right outside my window and drugs are available in a city large or small. Many of my former classmates did not choose to attend college, but I did. I worked and went to college, and I just graduated in the winter of 2007. I studied furniture design at
the College for Creative Studies here in Detroit. I enjoy creating unique pieces of furniture. I am a fabricator which means I can make anything from any type of material. Please check my website out at www.jonmeyerdesigns.com I currently work at the newly renovated and world renowned Detroit Institute of Arts. Mr. Perez says that a student that pursues his or her dream in an enlightened human being.
As a newcomer to seventh-grade at Earhart Middle School, I was having a difficult time adjusting to living and studying in a country that stood in such contrast to my natal Mexico. When my teachers saw I wasn’t connecting well with the students in my class (as I still had certain difficulty understanding English and was thus kinda left out), they introduced me to Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez encouraged me not to give up on the classes just because of a slight cultural barrier, and he encouraged me to join a digital media program that met after-school at Earhart called KLICK.
Drawing and writing had always been activities I enjoyed doing - I loved being able to tell my own stories, whether it was for a school assignment or just for plain leisure. KLICK was, quite simply, the realization of a dream. I learned how to tell the stories I loved to make so much through filmmaking, photogrphy, and web site design. During a workshop held in the summer, I learned techniques to make a stop-motion animation using clay figures. This inspired me to make a clay animation music video based on one of my favorite songs. My teachers and friends loved the project, and when I showed it to Mr. Perez he suggested that I send it to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. It was the only entry I sent to the contest -the “No,No” song performed by the Beatles-and it was awarded the American Vision Award.
I was able to graduate from Cass Technical High School in 2006. Thanks to Mr. Perez, on a recent trip to Chicago, I was offered an internship at the studios of Telemundo. I plan to take advantage of this opportunity and study animation and digital media at Columbia College.
R.A.R.E Every Day Heroes
The city of Detroit inspired me to teach with passion. Recognize the talent in your classroom. Thank you Rare Foundation.
Artbeat
Rob Maniscalco, a nationally renowned artist, produced this segment for his show Artbeat, which airs on the PBS channel.
Endorsements
“Hector Perez has a way of reaching the unreachable. The inner city kids I saw in his class were not what I expected to see in a dilapidated high school in the SW corner of Detroit. They were excited, focused and driven to accomplish the myriad of projects going on in his little art Mecca. Hector is a true art spirit”
Rob Maniscalco, Masicalco Gallery
Hector Perez is a very inspiring man and has a lot to bring to today’s youth. I appreciate all the work that he has done to mentor students and lead them down the right paths. I agree that the dropout rate is an important issue and should be a top priority of those interested in the future, our kids..”
Senator John, J. Gleason, Michigan State Senate
“It’s rare when you run across a person like Hector Perez. Here’s someone who turned his life around, then took that experience and helped others, his students. The effect is not linear, it’s exponential. Hector’s life lessons will affect his students and their kids as well. And rarely do you see someone who communicated as effectively as he did with students–never condescending but always direct and with compassion. What a pleasure it was to meet Hector and be to able to share his story with others.”
Scott Newell, Television reporter/producer, website