More than 200 students throughout Long Island and the five boroughs applied for an art camp scholarship, but only one of the six recipients is from the Bronx.
Leah Bueno Bisano, a sixth grade student at Bronx Charter School for the Arts at 950 Longfellow Ave., was announced April 29 as a winner of the “Uniquely U” Scholarship for Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. The camp has run for 52 years in Long Island, but this is only the third year for the scholarship.
Bueno Bisano, a Hunts Point resident, has never been to the camp before, but her friends told her good things about it. In her submission video she showed a clip of her acting in the show “The Tempest,” dancing to contemporary and hip-hop music, playing piano and singing “All of Me” by John Legend and presenting an art slideshow.
She applied in February and got the good news this past week.
“I felt really special because I’ve always liked the arts,” she said.
The teen told the Bronx Times she plans to pursue a career in art. She would love to be in theater and a part time architect.
Bueno Bisano hopes COVID-19 subsides so she is able to go to camp and experience everything her friends told her about.
Usdan is an agency of the UJA-Federation of New York. About 1,500 kids attend each summer and they have the option of coming for three, four or seven weeks and choose three classes to participate in daily.
Artists ages seven through 18 are asked to submit a video explaining what makes them unique alongside samples of their sustainability and nature projects, creative writing or visual and performing arts work.
“Seeing the joy, creativity and enthusiasm demonstrated by all the applicants added some light in an otherwise challenging time,” said Lauren Brandt Schloss, executive director of Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. “It was a true respite and thrill to tap into being with young people who are brilliant, funny, creative and completely themselves.”
Additionally, for a second year in a row, Bronx Charter School for the Arts won a school scholarship, which means one of Bueno Bisano’s classmates will be joining her.
According to Brandt Schloss, she and her colleagues were impressed with Bueno Bisano’s artistic talent, but what really caught their attention was her essay. She wrote about friendship, determination and being herself.
“We judge this not just based purely on skill and talent, but creativity,” she said.
