Everybody’s Gigi

Through art supplies, snacks and a red wagon, Rhonda Davis is shining a light on Syracuse neighborhoods—one child at a time.

Rhonda Davis embraces her grandkids and great-grandkids outside of her home on the South Side of Syracuse. Photo by Amy Toensing.

On any given afternoon in Syracuse, Rhonda Davis can be found pulling a wagon through neighborhoods, scanning playgrounds and the streets for children.

What’s inside her wagon? Markers, crayons, drawing books, snacks and even hats and gloves.

The kids around the block call her Gigi.

“I lead a program called Shining a Light on Neighborhoods through Art House Collective,” Davis said. “I pull a wagon through neighborhoods with art supplies and snacks and share them with kids.”

The wagon began as a van, her “art house mobile.” When COVID-19 shut down schools in 2020, Davis packed 30 to 50 bags at a time with art materials and food and delivered them to children across Syracuse. With help from a teacher at South Side Academy, she reached kids on the South, West, North and Northeast sides.

“Kids from certain neighborhoods relied on the meals they got in school,” she said. “The art supplies were fine, but I was trying to also get food items to them.”

King, Aubrey and Geo pose on their porch after receiving snacks and art supplies from Rhonda. Photo by Amy Toensing.

Even after her van was hit by another vehicle, she continued the work on foot, pulling a red wagon instead.

The program started in 2018 at the Dunbar Center before moving to the Mary Nelson Center and later to the Mundy and Beauchamp libraries. On Saturdays, children gather to create art, eat lunch and talk about their neighborhoods. Often times the children will draw what they see and what they wish would change.

“I get them to tell a story about the neighborhood through their art,” Davis said. “It opens up a conversation.”

Sometimes those conversations are difficult. One child once drew a gun, a reflection of what he saw around him. For Davis, moments like that reinforce the importance of giving children a creative outlet and someone willing to listen.

“A lot of them just like having someone talking to them,” she said.

Her dream is to expand the program with more volunteers. Specifically people who can help with homework, offer encouragement or simply show up consistently.

Her great-grandchildren call her Gigi, and now, so does the neighborhood.

And when children see the wagon coming down the sidewalk, they know what it means: art, snacks and someone who cares enough to ask how they’re doing.

Video and story produced by Amy Toensing and Kayla Breen.

Photos by Amy Toensing.