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# Teen angst gives way to teen art
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/teen-angst-gives-way-to-teen-art/
- Published: 2007-05-11T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:44:15.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*Erasing misery*

Students are tackling world’s ills through creative means SANTA MONICA ART STUDIOS While there are those who believe the youth of today are more self-centered than ever, a group of artistically gifted students from Santa Monica and West Los Angeles are challenging the stereotypes with pencils and cameras in hand, using their creativity to help the less fortunate.

Known as ARTribe, the recently-formed collective of teens from Crossroads, Marlborough, New Roads, Windward and Wildwood schools is hosting its first art show and auction tonight to raise funds for prenatal aand neonatal care for mothers and their children in Vietnam and Nepal.

Photography, sculpture, film, drawings and paintings selected by a panel of artists and jurors will be on display at Studio I, 3026 Airport Avenue. All proceeds will be donated to Mother and Child Project of the S.P.I.R.A.L. Foundation (Spinning Potential Into Resource And Love), a non-profit, humanitarian organization that sells blankets, ornaments and tableware made by artisans in villages abroad.

“You read a lot today about disenchanted and alienated youth and how technology has produced a more selfish generation of children, and I kind of get that impression from a lot of people nowadays, but with this project, everyone was really excited and willing to do their part,”said Liz Raiss, a 17-year-old junior at Crossroads, who helped organize the event.

“Everyone thought this was a great idea,” Raiss added. “I was kind of surprised by how overwhelming it has been. I didn’t think kids would get as into it as they did, but everyone is loving it.”

ARTribe formed in the fall of 2006 when 17-year-old Alexa Gray, a student at Windward School in Mar Vista, returned from a trip to Thailand where she worked at an orphanage. Gray said she fell in love with the children she met and wanted to do something to help.

“I had such a withdrawal,” Gray said. “I didn’t really know how to express how I felt, but I had all these amazing, talented art friends so I figured why not get together and have some kind of exhibit?

“People were telling me that I’m young and that I have plenty of time to worry about what is happening around the world and get involved,” Gray said. “but I was thinking,‘I don’t care that I’m a kid, I want to get involved now.’”

After a few phone calls and a lot of hard work, the collective was formed and has since gained some recognition amongst the artistic community. The exhibit is expected to draw plenty of collectors and celebrities, including Justin Chambers of “Gray’s Anatomy” and supermodel Carolyn Murphy.

The exhibit is open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for children and $20 for adults.

“I am so deeply moved that in their search for ways to express and share their creativity, this group of Los Angeles students chose to embrace a good humanitarian project that benefits poor and sick people in Vietnam and Nepal,” said Marichia Simcik Arese, vice president of S.P.I.R.A.L.

Andrew Gold, ARTribe’s co-founder and a senior at the Wildwood School, recently visited Vietnam with his school and witnessed firsthand those aided by the foundation. He was especially touched by a 5-year-old-boy who will receive a heart transplant because of the foundation’s work in his community.

In Vietnam, for every 100,000 pregnant women, 439 die during their pregnancy or in childbirth. Out of 410,000 newborn babies every year, 12,300 are born with congenital heart or genetic disease, according to the foundation.

Thrilled to have sparked the enthusiasm for the project of fellow students around Los Angeles, Gold said, “ARTribe has enabled us to combine our passion for art and our responsibility to give back to the world.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/051107-01_01.jpg)

GLORY BE: Andrew Gold’s works are part of the relief effort. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/051107-01_02.jpg)

DUTY CALLS: Alexa Gray contributed this work. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/051107-01_03.jpg)

OVERLOOKED: The works of Sasha Spielberg, daughter of the director, help aid those overseas. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 11, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)