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