Inspiring Young NYCHA Residents Through the Arts
Tareake Dorill has lived at Riis Houses in the East Village all his life – and his grandmother was one of the development’s first residents. The community has been so important to him that he decided to give back to it and the larger NYCHA community through the arts nonprofit organization he founded in 2018 called Dorill Initiative, which trains, supports, and promotes young artists to be leaders.
Mr. Dorill was a professional dancer, choreographer, and actor. “Instead of shifting into the art world, I said, ‘Why don’t I bring this education and vigor to this community?’ My passion for the arts, social justice and change, and community engagement – plus growing up in NYCHA – made me see that there’s so much opportunity but there’s also a lack of resources, funding, and support. People look at NYCHA and these developments and underestimate and overlook them because of Zip Codes, but I felt that I was someone who was able to have the best of both worlds being from this community and having this opportunity to flourish in a passion I had.”
Mr. Dorill said that some of the well-known arts organizations are far or not accessible for children living in public housing; he wanted to provide a space to introduce young people to the arts while also supporting and fostering their self-esteem, academics, and artistic interests.
Dorill Initiative offers four programs for young people ages 5 to 18: a Saturday arts program, summer intensive program, in-school program, and after-school program. The Saturday program is a free interdisciplinary program featuring dance, drama, media, music, visual arts, and spoken word to help students tell their own stories and address the issues that matter most to them.
Approximately 75 percent of the young people enrolled in the Saturday program are residents from Riis, Wald, Baruch, Smith, and Vladeck Houses. Mr. Dorill hopes to one day provide free classes to every young NYCHA resident. “I want to help every single young person living in these developments realize their limitless potential and to fight against the narrative that we always hear in the news about public housing,” he explained. “It’s not just about the art – this is the next generation of leaders, and we want to see them at a board room table, operating table, in the classroom changing the world for the better. Our main vision is to create doers, dreamers who know how to embrace change and revolution to use whatever is at their ready and their power to make that happen.”
To learn more about Dorill Initiative, visit dorill.org.
Featured photo caption: Taraeke Dorill (front right) with Dorill Initiative community members and WPIX 11 Reporter Monica Morales (back, second from right). Watch Monica Morales’ story on the Dorill Initiative here: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/east-village-man-uses-the-gift-of-art-to-help-nycha-kids/