EAGER BEAVERS- project proposals and first meeting with students

Meeting Emily

I got together with Emily Topper, the director of the upcoming documentary, "The American Village." We sat down at on the hill and somehow seamlessly jumped into one of the most fascinating discussions i have had in a long time. Our stories are slightly similar. The main difference is that she has complete artistic control over how her story is told on behalf of her family. We discussed the problems that can arise when one person tries to tell a story and keep everyone involved happy with the way in which it is told.

In my opinion,  it is the job of a story teller to share their experience authentically and explore the issues at hand. That being said, there are always family members, friends and other people who experienced the crime who have a very different perspective. In the worst case scenario, people are re-victimized or offended by someone else's interpretation of the story. Best case- the artist creates an insightful piece of work that acknowledges everyone's 'needs' from the act of story telling, while remaining authentic to their own interpretation.

I think Emily is doing a brilliant job of this. I think her film will be phenomenal... but more than that I think it will be a beautiful, honest look at the way crimes affects family dynamics and subsequent generations.  I have incredible respect for her drive to find answers and make sense of a senseless act.

Occupy Wall Street

I was in New York during fall break and some friends of ours took us to Time Square. The most memorable part of the experience was when the crowd acknowledged the police officers as part of the cause as they were patrolling the area. I'm glad I was able to witness the events. I only hope that I can participate in an area I am more closely related to. A month ago, I would have said that Florida is the only place I'd be able to actively make a change, but now, I'm interested in what I can offer Baltimore as well. Doing this project at John Eager Howard has been a huge catalyst in making me feel closer to Baltimore. 

Exploring teaching and film

this week Lauren Abramson put me in contact with a film maker named Emily. She's in town for the week and working with the Community Counselling Center. We have slightly similar stories. From watching the trailer of her film I gathered that she had gone in search of answers regarding her grandfather's murder.

We are planning to meet for coffee later in the week.

The other piece of my exploration is reading. My cousin is a school teacher and lent me a book called "Take it Personally" by Ann Berlak and Sekani Moydena. So far it's a bit harsh... but I'll take all the insight I can get.

-Amelia

Could Art Change the World?

JR's TED Talk

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's take warning"

I am in the group working in the courtyard of the school, and we decided it would be best if we got to know the kids on the first session. At first I was nervous, because I wasn't sure about lost time for the work; however, throughout the week I've been watching the weather to check for rain. Sure enough, it was supposed to rain some on the day of our work, but looking at the red sky now, I'm losing faith.
It's easy to put work aside and focus on what's fun when the weather forces us to hold off on even just the priming, but if the old rhyme is correct, which I've found it usually is, then tomorrow will be clear; and we'll have missed a good day to work when there is high chance the upcoming Thursdays may be fraught with bad weather.
I expect us to get to know the kids during their time with us (and hope for the best later), and at least get the sweeping and washing of grime done, because that work can be done even, if not especially, in the rain (should it rain). If it is sunny, or just dry, and we finish the washing, we may move on to priming, but I'm not even sure we have those materials yet, so probably not.
I also fear that the children will ask us questions about what we're doing that we don't know the answer to, and they'll refuse to cooperate because they'll think we're stupid... but really I'm more worried about them giving us headaches so that none of us will be in our best moods and, therefore, we won't even be able to cooperate effectively among ourselves!
There are so many ways things could go wrong that I'm nervous, but I guess I'm also ready to just jump in. I guess we'll find out tomorrow what was worth worrying over! - Lauren

John Eager Howard School: fears/expectations

My major concern is that we wont finish on time..... my group has the exterior, front mural, which is comprised of many walls of various heights and widths...
I hope to be able to work on the mural everytime we go to the school and that the kids will have a fun time and like the end result. This will be my first mural and I am excited to start..just need to finalize plans and designs for the mural.
-Richelle

Both my parents grew up in a revolution and lived through a war in Nicaragua. Having to escape the country for safety, work, and helping out their own families, each of them went to another country (my dad to Mexico and later the U.S.; my mom to the U.S.) alone. There were great hardships in both of their cases including the sudden unjust death of a loved one. So, in my household I grew up with my mom's words of negativity and hatred towards communism. corruption, the Sandinistas, and injustice.
 I feel more strongly about injustice towards the more helpless, especially children. I never know what to do to help out or how I can involve my art to make a change in their lives. All I know I want to do is make their lives better and their suffering less.
 There is this huge garbage dump (called La Chureca) in the capital of Nicaragua where more than 300 families live. They dig through the garbage collecting stuff to sell or get money from. Among these families, there are children too, working and basically living there. Not many people know about this, and all I can think of is grabbing a camera/video camera and just getting some footage of it all.
 Links:
http://www.lachureca.org/crisis.html
Also, Anthony Bourdain (from No Reservations) visited La Chureca in Nicaragua. He shows some of it in this video from 11:38 to 14:40.

-Richelle

How my story effects my work

Being a Hispanic American has caused a lot of internal conflicts but has lately brought me a lot of peace. There are aspects of my family’s way of living that I will always hold dear to me and cherish. My family has always been by my side no matter what and I have never felt neglected or abandoned by those who were tied to me by blood.

         My time this past year in Miami has also made me very aware of a different type of family, one that took a much greater effort to maintain. The people I have grown close to as a young adult have shaped my way of relating to others. I built relationships with few, but they were very strong bonds. I spent time with people that I was able to connect with on a level much deeper than I had ever imagined and although some of them may enter and exit my life, I will always have remnants of those people who impacted my work and my very existence.

         I want to build a family in my community. I want to speak only on behalf of those I really understand and hold connections with. I don’t see myself working on projects that have no relevance to my own life. When pursuing a community art project, the community and I will have some sort of common ground. The issue that I take on will be one that influences my own life on some degree because I want to feel as in touch with a thought as the community around me is. I want to be apart of the work, not just the leader that guides the people. Being passionate about what the people of a community are passionate about is what truly makes a project successful in my eyes. 

-Ale N. 

What Defines a Community Artist?- Ale N.

           Community art to me is essentially creating art with others who have similar interests or share something in common with me that is important in defining a particular community or group. I think that community artists should aim to incorporate others in their practice or otherwise, make something as a gift to the community if it is to be a public piece: If not a gift then a statement on behalf of a larger group of individuals.

            I do not personally consider myself a community artist yet. But being in this class is preparing me for the potential work that I will do for my own hometown when I go back. I think that the work we’re about to do on the school is going to benefit the community immensely because we will be involving the youth and allowing them to develop an open mind, ready to accept other perspectives and allowed to consider other alternatives to the goals that have been set for them. I hope that as community artists, we truly do give these students a chance to explore their power and ideas. All children should be allowed to step beyond their surroundings. 

I am from the suburbs of Austin, Texas. My neighborhood is very white, everyone is pretty friendly, the neighborhood requires our lawns to be kept, most moms are far too involved in the PTA, everyone plays sports and is in a never ending competition. I wasnt very inspired to create art in this environment. Althouh i grew up drawing with my grandpa and uncle, i didn't feel encouraged to do art in school.In 8th grade I made one of my better decisions in life and transferred to the fine arts magnet school closer to down town. Mccallum was incredibly diverse unlike my previous schools where everyone looked and acted the same, yet everyone got along much better. It was not free of racial and class tension- the stereotypes ran deep- but on an individual level everyone was pretty nice to each other.
Austin is an interesting place. It is definitely a hippie town at the core, but the suburbs are growing fast and it is still in the middle of Texas and has still been governed by George w bush and Rick perry for way too long. Just about everyone I know, myself included, has some old, crazy, racist, conservative, member of the NRA and the tea party grandfather. Although it can be really upsetting to hear the old people make absurd statements, it is a great place to see the new generation of thinking overcoming the old. It is truly an inspiring environment.

-Shelby

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1eCdo4/flavorwire.com/95618/miranda-july-makes-art-that-requires-people

I love this.

-Amelia

The Upper Middle Class White Kid

Liz Miller here, from a small town in Frederick County called Middletown, founded 1767. It's a small historic farming town. There's a main street, a couple restaurants, some gas stations, school, a neighborhood and the rest is farmland, where I live. I'm not a farm kid persay, I just live in the middle of a field between two farms. Sometimes there may also be cows in my driveway if they get curious enough.

My high school was 98% white. I never had any "black friends" and it probably explains why I'm blundering over racial lines and feel really uncomfortable with the talk of racial tension. It makes me feel like I've done something wrong, like it's my fault that I never had much contact with kids of other racial backgrounds. Even now, writing this, I keep questioning if my wording is offensive. It's very new and weird for me to have to question at every turn if this is racially offensive and having to hear about the segregation in this city over and over every week.

On some notes I have issues connecting with the people we're meeting every week. I hear their stories, I make art about it, and I sympathize but I came from an upper middle class family. The most trouble we had was when we were having our house built and had to stay in a camping park for a week or two. I just don't know how to fully help them, I feel. I want to know more but at the same time I feel awkward about connecting with them.

At the moment I don't know how to describe my art making process. It's so radically different now than it was just a month or two ago. I'll update the world when I know what the heck I'm doing.

-Liz Miller

My Background

Anthony Grago

Regular Life

I grew in a city
my shames in my pity
for those who scorn
will be burned
for the others
regular life
is earned

Is there nothing more
than the homeless and poor
I pride in my family
for being my dawn
AND NOW I AM MANLY
MY FAMILY IS gone.

Baltimore Child Abuse Center

http://www.baltimorechildabusecenter.org/

The Baltimore Child Abuse Center is an organization that opened in 1987 to help the growing number of cildren that were being sexually abused, but nothing was being done about it.

This organization provides the children with medical treatment and counseling. They are also working towards ending the abuse for other children. -Susannah

Food in Baltimore!

Below is a video we ( Hallie and Allie)  made about food access issues here in Baltimore, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlR1V1FiAxo