Last month's Art Talk alumni, Ratha Sok (aka Rawh Brand), has been up to some pretty crazy things in the month since we talked to him. He's launching a little venture called The Blackbook Project, which aims to supply underprivledged kids without access to art education with blackbooks as an outlet to express themselves artistically. Let us tell you about it!

Last month's Art Talk alumni, Ratha Sok (aka Rawh Brand), has been up to some pretty crazy things in the month since we talked to him. He's launching a little venture called The Blackbook Project, which aims to supply underprivledged kids without access to art education with blackbooks as an outlet to express themselves artistically. Let us tell you about it!

The problem: Lacking art education in schools. Art education has been proven to promote creativity and social development and improve math and reading skills, science comprehension, critical-thinking, and problem-solving. Students at a high risk for dropping out are more likely to stay in school and are four times more likely to succeed academically when given the opportunity to take art classes.

The solution: Purchase a t-shirt or rewards bundle from Rawh's Kickstarter site; the proceeds go towards supplying kids with blackbooks as a vehicle to express their creativity. What's a blackbook, you ask? It's basically a sketchbook favored by artists because of the paper quality and thick black covers … it's kind of where artists, writers, and other patrons of the page create their craft.  Actually, Rawh puts it pretty nicely on the Blackbook site: "Within its pages, we face our fears, realize our dreams, and plan for the future." Along with every blackbook, Rawh will provide Denver youth with an environment that promotes art collaboration, as well as additional incentives and rewards to encourage artistic growth.

He's partnering up with key creative organizations in Denver – such as VSA, Gold Crown, Access Gallery, and Arts Street to distribute the blackbooks, giving kids a chance to experience artistic environments. By doing so, Rawh is supporting the development of their natural talents while dissuading them from the temptations of growing up from the inner city.

The ultimate goal: To promote creativity, provide an artistic and constructive atmosphere and sponsor art within the Colorado community.

The audio-visual persuasion:

Check the project out. It has different tiers of donations, each which comes with a gift or five so you get as much back as you're putting in. You can donate a $1, you can donate $500; it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you put in work at your fry-cook job at Chili's to partially fund a Colorado kid's dream. And that's pretty cool.