Mother Made

I was really impressed with this program, mostly because of the area that it is located in is one of the worst parts of Baltimore. The fact that there can be such a community in this awesome club really goes to show that these people care. When i was in middle school I was a member of base camp, which was a group of young people who dedicate a week of there summer towards charity. A lot of the things we did were similar to the things they do at mother made like goodie bags and what not. I know first hand how great it feels to make a difference and thats why i am so enthused about mother made.

Alejandra, Organization for this week

http://www.soros.org/initiatives/baltimore

Many people don't leave Baltimore, so many don't have the opportunity to experience what is beyond their limitations. This link goes to the website of the organization I chose to research.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcQ9yzb7vao
-Richelle
This piece deals with the limited growth available in the vacant neighborhoods of middle-east Baltimore. The plant, associated with growth, is wrapped up (like the boarded up houses), and constricted from growing. This restriction spreads to the houses beside it too.

station North District

Last week Ale and I went to station north district and met Andy, who owns the Cyclopse bookstore, and Russel, who owns the wind up space. This week we followed up on our first encounter by going to hear a young, local bad play at the wind up space. Andy had expressed the previous week the need for the promotion of the arts in the district to attract people and to uplift he community in general. Russel had talked about how much he appreciated the young music scene in the district, especially the jazz. I also talked to a girl who had grown up in Baltimore about community arts. She told me that there was someone in her neighborhood attempting to paint a mural of a large, friendly white man patting a young black boy on the back. I want to do something the community will enjoy, something that may inspire them, not to spread some patronizing, degrading message. After talking to Russel a bit, I came up with the idea of doing life sized portraits of influential musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis on the exterior of buildings along north ave. Hopefully, they will bring some inspiration to the community without offending anyone, giving the incoming art scene and the old neighborhoods something to agree upon- Jimi Hendrix, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis rock.

-shelby

restorative Justice in Baltimore

The International Center for Justice and rehabilitation defines Restorative Justice as a practice that emphasizes repairing harm cause by crime. They say, "when victims, offenders and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results can be transformational."

In my own life I have found this to be true. I will try to keep this long story short. 

On Dec. 31, 1997, I was four and living in a small town between Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. My father, a lawyer and triathlete, was informed of a party going on at the home of one of his friends. The party was being hosted by his friend's teenage son. It was crowded and out of control. My father and his two friends left our home to make sure everything was alright. 

My father graduating from Law School

Upon reaching the house the men were split up. My father went to the master bedroom where he found a group of young people. For whatever reason they became violent. One man punched him in the face, another kicked him in the head once he had fallen. He died almost instantly from internal bleeding. I was four. 

The tough part was that no one knew for sure who had done it. It took five years of police investigation to convict the man. In the meantime we moved to Victoria, my mother remarried and I started school. When the offender was convicted my mother asked to meet him. In her mind she needed to understand why she had lost her husband. She wanted to how someone had been capable of that type of crime. She wanted him to know the human impact. So they met. They discussed the crime and each of their lives and were facilitated in a process of restorative justice. He served five years at a minimum security facility. 

When I was 12 I decided I wanted to do the same. In hindsight I think we had no idea how to communicate with one another. The only thing was had in common (with the exception of my father) was art. He was an artist. I was an artist. We talked about painting. I showed him my work. I saw his. 

Six years later it still feels surreal and I have many unanswered questions. The only thing I have a solid grasp on is our respective humanity. Art has always been a safe tool of exploration for me. It is both healing and empowering. Knowing the nature of this tool, I have a hard time thinking of anyone who uses it as a monster. Our shared pursuit of art has been the most humanizing discovery of my life. 

This is why I have found myself here, in Baltimore, at MICA. I am not entirely certain of how to do it, but I am confident in the healing capacity that restorative practice and creative expression can have in combination.  

Last friday I met with the Executive Director of The Community Counselling Center, Lauren Abramson.  We shared a mug of tea and discussed the work her organization does. In short, The Community Conferencing Center provides safe spaces for reconciliation to occur. In their own words, they provide a highly participatory, community-based process for people to transform their conflicts into cooperation, take collective and personal responsibility for action, and improve their quality of life. Through partnerships with people, neighborhoods, governments and institutions, the Community Conferencing Center helps Maryland communities resolve conflicts and crimes within their own communities. (www.communityconferencing.org) 

Nkisi

Lauren shared a few interesting ideas. We began to talk about the link between restorative justice and art and she told me about the African tradition of Nkisi statues. Communities create wooden figures and every time a conflict is resolved holistically, they put a nail into the figure. I find myself very drawn to the idea of a visual representation of a community empowered by their own peacemaking. 

unfinished work - myself as nkisi

This has inspired my art making this week. I've chosen to work with acrylic paint and write a letter to the man responsible for my father's death. While it is embedded in the work now, I found the process of writing to him so directly to be challenging. I began the letter with the word "dear" and immediately crossed it out. My first line reads, "This is not a thank you letter." The piece goes on to explain the place I have found myself in now, the work I am doing, and the future in community arts I am building for myself. I don't plan on actually sending this letter.

Phone Interview with my Grandfather

   Last week (9/21) I had a phone conversation with my grandfather and I asked him about being born in Baltimore. Although he doesn't remember Baltimore much, he gave me valuable information for a time period that I only had knowledge of in the text books. I learned about everyday life events rather than huge moments in time and how they are connected with my family. Even if this story doesn't exactly match with our class, I still think it is interesting to hear stories from the past and to learn about where we come from.

   My grandfather was born on June 18th, 1924. He lived on 2242 E. Fairmount, Baltimore in a then 80 year old, brick low rise building. His father owned a laundry in Baltimore where clothes were washed by hand on washboards, making this a very labor intensive profession. In 1921, his father returned to a village in China to marry his wife and they both returned to the U.S. where his mother started working in the laundry as well.

   In 1929, the entire family moved from Baltimore to D.C. and then later to Charlotte, North Carolina. His father decided to move because he was tired of their current lifestyle in Baltimore and wanted better for the family business. Luckily for them, they had pulled their money from the banks before the Crash of '29. From then, his father opened up another laundry in Charlotte, but was able to use machines to clean and press the clothes. In addition to that his mother ran a Chinese restaurant called "The Far East", which was extremely popular with the locals, especially the African American population. His mother also provided meals for needy families, which I thought tied in a little with our class. An interesting  side note that my grandfather mentioned was that the Chinese in the south (3 families in Charlotte) were not discriminated against while African Americans were discriminated against. I enjoyed learning a little piece of history from my grandfather and getting to know some of his experiences.

A photo of my grandfather, grandmother, and myself.

~TJ

Making Baltimore Greener

When I was in high school, one of my favorite classes was environmental science. I've always been interested in sustainability and how we affect the areas around us. Not littering and supporting local farmers markets are good steps to take, but they're small ones. While not everyone can own a hybrid car or a solar powered house, we can all do our part to help lessen the damage we all inevitably cause as consumers. This is especially important in a busy city like Baltimore which can really take a toll on surrounding areas. One organization that really interested me is Baltimore Green Works. According to their website, "Baltimore Green Works (BGW) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support environmental efforts that better the quality of life in Baltimore." They started Baltimore Green Week which consists of a series of programs focused on environmental awareness and sustainable practices as well as the EcoBall, a fundraising event and a sustainable speaker series. I hope to get involved and volunteer with this organization.

-Amber

Cool Restaurant- ALE N.

Helping Hampden

When I first heard about this assignment, I immediately knew that I wanted to continue working with kids. Back home, I loved working in the preschool and then extending that by volunteering with other organizations that benefit kids in our community. I began researching places in Baltimore that work with both kids and families and came across the Hampden Family Center. According to their website, their mission "is to enrich the lives of Hampden residents through education and professional support, and to encourage individual growth and community fellowship." The center relies heavily on volunteers to keep their programs alive. Their programs vary from working on ongoing projects to shorter, one day commitments. Looking through the programs offered, I would really be happy working with any of the programs. I contacted them about volunteering, and am excited to hear back!

~ Marlee

Interview with a Native Baltimorean Piece

Hallie Hutchinson

This piece is my response to my interviews with two locals, employees at the local Target.  They represented entirely opposite demographics.  The first was a middle aged African American woman, and the second, a young Caucasian man.  Perhaps not surprisingly, they had differing views on the city of Baltimore, its issues and how they would like to see it progress in the future.  The woman spoke of a real stirring in the children and a newfound importance placed on arts and creativity in schools.  The man spoke of trouble on the streets- violence and racism.  He remarked that the police department is doing what they can to work with the community rather than against it, but there is still much left to be desired in the coming years.  I tried to convey their opposing perspectives in my piece.

House of Ruth

When we were given this assignment for next week I knew right away that I wanted my research and piece to be about an issue that deals with the women of Baltimore. After speaking to Whitney, I went home and looked up House of Ruth, a domestic violence center in Baltimore. I read their mission statement, and browsed their website before deciding that I would try to contact them. I sent them an email about myself, what the assignment was about, and why I want to find out more about that particular organization. I'm not sure if they will get back to me, and what kind of information I will get back (seeing how it's a domestic violence center, privacy is really important there, so I'm not sure if I will be able to get the contact information of anyone who has been there personally) but I hope to get a response soon. On their website, they say that you can help out by volunteering in some way, and I would love to do that in order to find out more about the center. The many time constraints, however, may keep me from doing that before this project is due. Now that I know about this place, though, I think I will continue to look into helping out there even after this project is handed in. Shedding light on women's issues is a big part of my artistic voice and now that I'm here at MICA, I want to get knee deep in helping in any way that I can, in order to help out these women as well as to gain some sort of inspiration for my artwork. We'll see what happens when I get a response back! -Sam

Project PLASE

One social issue that always has made me uncomfortable is homelessness. There's something about the idea  of it that scares me. When someone is homeless, it's assumed that they literally have nowhere to go, and how scary is that? They have no friends and no family that are willing to take them in. Is something wrong? Probably. When I see someone that's homeless on the street it's almost like I'm trespassing or invading their space, and I just never know how to act. It's a feeling akin to creeping past a rabid, feral dog. When it gets to that point they aren't treated like humans, and I recognize that feeling within myself and I want to change it and change my view on homelessness, that's why this week I got in contact with a group in Baltimore called Project PLASE.

Project PLASE [PLASE standing for People Lacking Shelter and Employment] works to provide help housing for those that are homeless, vulnerable, and undeserved, especially those who suffer from a mental disease, HIV/AIDS, and addictions. They have traditional and permanent housing for both men and women. Project PLASE has been working since 1974 and most commonly take clients that have been referred by the Department for Social Services, HERO, Healthcare for the Homeless, and many other organizations. They go throught about 350 clients a year and about 52% of them transitioned to stable living conditions.

While I'm still corresponding with them through e-mail I hope to be able to volunteer this year and at least go down and visit their main building some time this weekend.
Their website is here: http://www.projectplase.org/
-Liz

Baltimore is on our backs

Yesterday my core friends and I went to this awesome spot under the howard st. bridge. It was really exciting to explore the dark unknown  parts of town, but we were not alone under the bridge. We found out there was a group of homeless people who live there. The shortest man in the flock walked over to where we were and asked my friend ryan for a lighter (I know we were supposed to talk to a local shop or something, but for a real view of Baltimore I asked this curious looking homeless man about the pros of this city). All Benjamin would talk about was his friends in his camp and he talked about the artist community also. They live locally because the artists of Bolton Hill are very generous to them. I think that is something to be proud of, so I am drawing an illustration in response.

Healthcare for the homeless

Healthcare for the Homeless provides care, education, and advocacy for the homeless of Baltimore County. They have an arts program there already and it seems to be quite successful. I would love to work with them and see what has made the program so successful. I would then like to contact other homeless shelters in the area to see if they have and arts program or if they are willing to begin one. I did an art class with some homeless women in my county my junior year of high school and I learned more about myself then I ever knew. I attempted to get in touch with Healthcare for the Homeless multiple times but they haven't contacted me back. I will keep persisting and see what comes of that.  -Naomi

Street Art to Stop Self Harm

Earlier this week, I met a young woman who uses graffiti as a medium to address social issues within her hometown of Baltimore. Yes, her work crosses into the illegal, but it made me wonder if the cause could justify the means? We'll see.
Although it's just the work of one young girl, there are fliers popping up around Baltimore City, mostly closer to the MICA campus, addressing the issue of self harm. The posters, applied with a simple wheat paste, tell the story of a victim as well as the street artist's words of hope to her. If you should see fliers that might be the ones I'm talking about, look for a symbol of a moose, the artist's mark.  - Lauren

My Sister's Place/Mt. Vernon

 First place I headed out to in the area was the Basilica of the Assumption. (It was actually the first basilica in the US.) It is so majestic, big, spacious, and airy inside with beautiful architecture, paintings, sculptures, and dome paintings. I decided to take a little adventure and take a look at the chapel. After descending three flights of narrow stairs without a door in sight, the walls turned into layers of bricks and I found myself in a tunnel...kind of like catacombs. (I was kind of scared at the moment because I was alone in the dark catacomb-tunnel-chapel). Long story short, the chapel had a lot of history to it and had so much to offer and discover.
In the area I also explored the Enoch Pratt free library, My Sister's Place Woman Center, and the Walters Art Museum. My Sister's Place is a daytime refuge shelter for homeless women and their children. I met some nice ladies and pretty sociable three-year-olds that showed me where to inquire about the center. Inside, Jackie Reed let me know about volunteering there. I found out that the center's been around for 20 years but 3 years at that specific location. I plan on going back again...Richelle

Rec. Centers Are Important!

         Last week during class we visited a very successful Rec Center in Baltimore called the John Eager Howard Elementary School and Rec Center. It had tons of resources available, like a computer lab, gymnasium, art room, Kitchen, and work out room. It was amazing to see the people who ran, and worked at the rec center. They were so passionate about creating a positive place for youth to go after school, and a place for them to learn and grow. In Baltimore the number of rec centers has greatly decreased in the past years, robbing youth of a positive place to go after school.

         Last year when I was working with middle school students in Seattle, I learned how important it was to have the rec center close to school. Often the minute the bell rang at 2:35 ending the school day, a huge group of students would migrate to the rec center and would go swimming, take breakdance classes, get help with their homework, or simply hang out with their friends in the teen room. Most of the students would stay there until it closed, and on the weekends many of them would go there all day, and then go to their late night program. This rec center helped the students stay on track, and opened them to new ideas. 

         From my positive experiences at Rec Centers in both Baltimore, and Seattle I think it is important for neighborhoods to have Rec centers as part of their community. Not just for youth, but also a place where the entire community can gather, and use community resources. Community and Rec Centers, should not cost people money, but give all people the opportunities to try new things, and to better their lives. Whether that means taking a gardening class, or using a computer to search for a job. Bellow is what I think an ideal Rec/Community Center could look like.

Allie Mac.

Station North District

Today Ale and I went to the Station North District with the intention of stumbling upon an interesting venue or person. The first building that caught our eyes was Cyclops. The doors were locked, but through the window we saw a table full of fliers and cards for different shows and events in Baltimore. While I was trying to read some of the fliers Andy walked out of the back room and unlocked the door for us. The store was lined with shelves of books and CDs, the walls were covered in art, and there were amps and a piano in front of a bunch of chairs in the middle of the floor. We asked Andy about other cool places in the neighborhood and told him that we were new students at MICA. We got to talking about book and music festivals and art festivals in our home towns. We both go to SXSW in Austin, which is awesome. We asked what he liked about Baltimore and he said that he loves everything about it. He believes that Baltimore is "what New York used to be" before it got all "disney-fied." He wished the crime was better, but said that he has meetings every Thursday at Cyclops where business owners and artists in the Station North District come together to talk about ways of getting more cops to the neighborhood, planting more trees, planning events to attract more people and marketing the positive influence that is the art scene. So you guys should check that out. You can also go to facebook.com/cyclopsBmore to see other events coming up.

While we were in Cyclops, a man came in and interrupted our conversation and started pestering Andy about how his shop is never open and is too expensive. As he was leaving Ale asked him what he likes about Baltimore. Without even thinking he said "nothing." Then she asked what he didn't like and he said "Stephanie Rawlings-Blake."

A woman named Robin on the street who asked us for 50 cents for a hamburger said that Baltimore is too small. She asked where we were from and thought we were crazy for coming to Baltimore. She said the biggest problem is that it is too small and that there are no jobs. "If there were jobs available I wouldn't be out here asking you for fifty cents, now would I?" We were standing on North ave at the end of the bridge, in a location where you could see MICA, and she didnt know what MICA was- is Baltimore too small?

Then we decided to continue walking down the street until something caught our eye. We walked by a venue called the Wind Up Space which had posters for music events all over the windows. We looked inside and there was art on the wall, a classy stage and a bar. It was pretty deserted, so even though it was a 21 and up venue we thought we would go strike up a conversation with the bar tender. Russell was really friendly and had lived in Baltimore all of his life. The first thing he said that he didn't like about Baltimore was the weak infrastructure. He talked a lot about how the city has a beautiful history; about how the weak infrastructure and lack of jobs doesn't attract a lot of people so the history and the memories of the city pass through generations. He also noted that because it is less transient it is difficult for the community as a whole to evolve to a new state of mind. He really enjoys the young artist scene and attributes it's existence mostly to the low cost of living. He plays in a band, works the bar four days a week, decorates the space, tiled the stage, organizes events and everything else that has to do with the Wind Up Space. The arts are thriving here in Baltimore!

John Eager Howard Elementary and Rec

John Eager Howard school was the first CAP (Community Arts Partnership) site for MICA over 10 years ago. Thanks to Gwen Brown, organizer with BUILD, and Ken Krafchek, Director of the Masters of Art in Community Arts program at MICA.
Recently, there are no MICA students working in the school or the rec. The school only has a part time art teacher. The new Principal, Ms. Hanson, and long standing Rec Director, Ms. Cookie, were thrilled to have MICA students in their space. The want art everywhere! They both expressed a need for art to engage the students and the parents of all ages.
What will we do to develop this partnership with MICA and John Eager Howard Rec/Elementary School?

Hampden (like a den of ham)

Last week students from the Finding Baltimore set out to explore the city to discover  what all of the neighborhoods have to offer. Here is a quick video about Hampden made by three of the students.