New Gascot Latinpop T-Shirt Designs

Three brand new t-shirt designs are now available exclusively through my Latin Pop Shop online store! Each comes in at least two colors. CHECK THEM OUT.

Charlie's Joint

Good Hair

Midnight Jam

Call for Participants: "Mosaic" Multi-Cultural Youth Art Workshop

Mosaic is an artist-led socially-engaged project working with Multicultural Youth. It is a partnership between artist John Gascot (Lead), co-lead artists and youth participants ages 11-14.
In June of 2017 Mr. Gascot will lead alongside co-lead art instructor Noelle Stillman a group of approximately 10 Multicultural Youths on a 4-day expressive arts program. There is no cost to participants. The workshop will take place at Allendale UMC. Allendale UMC has made a large classroom available to the project at no cost. The workshop is in no way faith-based. During the 4-day period Gascot and Stillman and will provide instruction and guidance as the students create stylized culturally expressive self-portraits celebrating their heritage and ancestry. Each portrait will be composed of 4 panels which will later be separated and mixed with the portraits of others to create various “mosaic” cross-cultural portraits. All final creative decisions will be made by the students. Once works are completed, an exhibit and opening reception celebrating the youth participants and their works will be held (dates and details will be announced soon). This event will be free and open to the public. The goal of this project is to bring youth from varying cultural backgrounds together in a safe and professional setting for cross-learning and cross-cultural creative teamwork. Through a shared art-making process they will learn about one another, what makes them culturally unique and how those differences might have enriched their creative experience.

-10 student participants, ages 11-14, from at least 3-5 cultural backgrounds

-Two teaching artists

-One 2hr session per day

Workshop Dates:
Monday, June 26, 10am-noon
Tuesday, June 27, 10am-noon
Wednesday, June 28, 10am-noon
Thursday, June 29, 10am-noon

Project contact:
John Gascot, jgascot@gascot.com
This project is possible through a grant from the Saint Petersburg Arts Alliance.

Liberty for All T-shirt

I was incredibly touched by the lovely response this image received from participants of the Women's March on Washington (St.Pete and other states). I proudly carried my painting as my sign during the St. Pete march. Prior to that I had requests from a number of ladies to use the image as/in their posters. I gave permission to all who wanted to and made a high resolution image available to the public. Imagine my joy when I saw other marchers holding up "Liberty for All". 
Many requested a t-shirt and here it is!

You can purchase your very own "Liberty for All" tee from my Etsy store now. Just click here!

Oldie But Goodie Tuesday

This is the first painting in which I explored celebrating our trans sisters and brothers. Click on the here to view the full image. Celebrate diversity!

Bird of Paradise, acrylic on canvas, 10" x 20"

I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke

As an artist who strives to promote diversity I LOVED this ad and am deeply saddened by the ignorant outrage against it. 

So much of the expressed opposition came/comes in the shape of name-calling and slur-slinging tweets and posts. Less crass (but equally outspoken) protest comes from people insisting that it is a great disrespect to sing a song so meaningful to our nation in any language but English. To these people I wish to remind that not even a year ago a very similar backlash occurred against a Mexican-AMERICAN child who sang our national anthem...in ENGLISH.

Today, I am transported back to a time in my youth when I did everything in my power to subdue my Latino heritage in order to "fit in" and achieve a semblance of acceptance and social success. It didn't take long from the time we arrived in New Jersey from Puerto Rico for me to realize that I where I came from set me apart from so many of the other children in a very distinct way. The kids who spoke English as a second language kept to themselves, mostly. At best, they were not included in group activities, at worst we were laughed or giggled at if we had trouble reading out loud or answering a question due to the language barrier. It didn't matter that we were trying. I had to repeat a year of school due to this difference and I managed to master the English language just enough to "pass" and get by without much issue by only putting forth my Italian heritage from that point on. Ironically, it was my Italian-American mother who felt great disappointment at this and insisted I should always be proud of my Caribbean upbringing.
I really only remember one or two other Hispanic students (I'm sure there were more) in my high school class. So much a secret did I wish to keep my Latino heritage in order to fit in, that I was afraid to show too much knowledge of my own first language and would occasionally fumble a question or two in Spanish class. How ridiculous of me. It wasn't until I became an adult that I began to gain the confidence to truly understand the importance of being true to ones roots.

I feel for every kid out there who today sat in a classroom or opened up twitter or Facebook only to see a country (their country) outraged over a tv ad that simply depicted that America is made of many colors and cultures and that each culture on this land has (or should have) the freedom to express their love for this nation and the American dream in a way that is authentic to who they are and wherever they may originally come from.