Did anybody hear how the !POWAR! reception went?

I sadly was unable to attend the !POWAR! reception at the last Gallery Hop on October 1st. Did anyone attend or hear how it went?

!POWAR! (People of Winston-Salem Art Reclamation Program) is a program to use public art to fight graffiti and raise awareness of gang activity. A pilot program was held during the summer after East Ward Council Member Derwin L. Montgomery held meetings with local artists to come up with creative ways to fight graffiti.

During the pilot program, nine students age 11-15 worked with artist Marianne DiNapoli-Mylet to create a “mobile” mural on sailcloth that will be used to introduce the program to schools, corporations and organizations. The students also created a gang-prevention coloring book that will be printed and distributed to local schools.

ReBlog from DWSP: Upcoming Business 40 Improvement Project Corridor Wide Announcement for Downtown W-S

http://downtownwinstonsalem.blogspot.com/2010/09/upcoming-business-40-improvement.html


Let's not forget as we share our thoughts on the Business 40 Redesign that our history and connection to each other are just as important as beautiful aesthetics. Bridges are for connecting, after all.

WFU Grad Explains How Photovoice and Psychology Came Together in Kenya

Janelle recently helped me make a discovery--North Carolina has some booming activity going on in Photovoice.

Janelle Summerville is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University and a current doctoral student at the University of Virginia. While attending WFU, she traveled to Kenya for a summer and asked female students there to document their identities using a digital camera. Janelle is a student of psychology, and these photographs provided her with wonderful qualitative data that helped shed light on the values of Kenyan girls--but I divulge too much. I'd rather let Janelle's words speak for themselves. The text of a short e-mail interview I did with Janelle is provided below. And thanks again for sparking my interest in Photovoice. I had no idea there was such a deep pool of scholarship and activity going on in this field. I can't wait to share posts on other NC projects later...

Janelle with the girls of Saint Edwin's Children's Home in Kimende, Kenya

Triad Community Arts: Why photography? What made you choose this medium to study self-esteem in Kenyan girls?

Janelle Summerville: As I was preparing to go to Kenya, I read several articles and books about incorporating art into psychological research. I became particularly engaged by the idea of utilizing different methods to encourage the power of the participant to actively play a role in representing themselves, rather than simply be represented by the researcher. Photography stood out for me for several reasons. From an artistic standpoint, the thought of seeing raw photography was fascinating to me. I was intrigued by the concept of what level of honest work would come out of girls who had never used a camera before and had lives that are not as image/media-dense as we have in the States. Secondly, I felt that photography gave the girls an opportunity to capture snippets of their lives in ways that transcends conversation and is not restricted the same way by self-perceived talent like you would find using painting or dance. Thirdly, the permanence and emotional power of it. Photography provided a way to capture a small segment of the reality of their daily experience and bring it back to present to others and share the experience, share their struggle in a way that a thousand words could not. Pictures speak to people and make things real for them, so I felt that it was my responsibility to bring that all back with me.

TCA: In the article I read [on Wake's website], you stated that Kenyan girls do not tend to value themselves as individuals the same way U.S. children do. What values did you find some of the girls had?

JS: In the short time I was there, I found that academics were highly valued, being useful to the group as a whole (through work to sustain and maintain the children’s home such as cooking, cleaning, food errands, etc.) was also highly valued. Girls as young as 7 would participate in the daily operations of the building in a way that many U.S. children would not be allowed to – but it was of vital importance that the girls worked together to promote the well-being of all. Physically, long hair was valued, although the girls all had their hair completely cut off. Additionally, I was a bit surprised to hear how highly valued light skin and more caucasian traits were.

TCA: How was the process of using photography to collect information different from using surveys or interviews? What benefits and drawbacks did you find with this process?

JS: They worked so well together. Photography opened up conversations in interviews that would have never happened and allowed for a starting point for discussion and exploration. Surveys, in my opinion, often offer a preliminary understanding similar to a sketch before it is filled in with paint or a skeleton without flesh. It’s a wonderful base and support from research, but neglects some of the detail you can get with interviews and an artistic method. In the end, I used a mixed-method approach and photography was an integral part of the full picture of self in the context of an orphaned Kenyan girl. The only drawbacks came from the organizational aspects such as downloading and labeling the COUNTLESS photos that the girls took. Additionally, the director of the children’s home did not want me to leave the cameras with the girls for fear that they would be assaulted for them or feel driven to sell them for food, etc. I felt silly for not considering that possibility, but was able to adjust my plan in order to accompany them to different places and spend enough time with them each day that we could get diverse photographs to represent their daily lives and experiences. The major benefit was the look on the girl’s face taking photographs as they ran around capturing anything and everything. It was such a joy being able to be a part of that and giving them a chance to represent themselves in that way.

Digital Arts & Technology Symposium 2010

There is a bit of information available on the Center for Design and Innovation's website regarding the food-focused Digital Arts & Technology Symposium (DATS) scheduled for this fall, and Greensboro artist and blogger, Andrew Young, has plenty of brainstorming available. Check out his blog to get psyched for DATS 2010.

Littoral: Redefining Art

While trying to decipher the meaning of a Lockheed Martin ad I read about in the Washington Post this morning, (It reads, "The shape of littoral dominance has a familiar look." Hmm...) I found a United Kingdom organization, Littoral, whose mission has very little to do with seashores and coasts but everything to do with community arts.

Littoral is "a nonprofit arts trust which promotes new creative partnerships, critical art practices and cultural strategies in response to issues about social, environmental and economic change."

Most of their work, collected under the title New Fields, examines and promotes the relationship between arts and agriculture.

Image from Littoral website.

A particularly unique project involves a collaboration between trade unions and artists called Routes. Littoral puts it best: "Invoking the historical links between the arts and the trade union movement, the project was framed to encourage the unions to rethink their cultural role as promoters of cross community unity in post-settlement Ireland."

In 2003, Littoral learned that "Transport House" (image below) , the trade union headquarters building, would be sold. Transport House was very important both historically and architecturally. Littoral led two artists to document the history of the building and propose future uses (such as a cultural and community arts center for working people) Again with Arts Council funding, two artists were employed to document the history of the building, and its possible future use as a cultural and community arts centre for working people. Visit Littoral's website for an extensive and captivating explanation of what has followed the initial proposal.

Photo of Transport House by Frankie Quinn.

A Women’s Weaving Group

• Supporting refugee and immigrant women to preserve traditional weaving
• First organizational meeting held at the Greensboro Central Library on June 10
• Efforts to create viable model
• Meeting attracts Nepali and Montagnard weavers; others welcome!

Pastor Y Hin Nie hosted the meeting and invited Betsy Renfrew, a Greensboro artist who has been working with Montagnard weavers intensively for the past two years, to discuss with several women who attended the possibilities in forming a cooperative or other group to preserve and promote backstrap weaving, a practice known among many Southeast Asian refugee women who live in the Piedmont. Such a group could also purchase hard to find thread and other materials, hold classes, sell work and keep technical and traditional skills alive.

A second meeting is planned for July at the Greensboro Historical Museum, details to come. 

• See videos of Montagnard backstrap weavers in Greensboro on YouTube.
• Read about the Montagnard weaver whose work was prominently featured at the Green Hill's 2009 Winter Show
• See related work on a women's sewing and English conversation class.

For more information, please contact Betsy Renfrew at betsyrenfrew@triad.rr.com

City of W-S Human Relations Department and WFU Art Department Collaborate on Art Project as Part of Kenan Institute for the Arts' ACCORD Initiative

As part of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts’ ACCORD Initiative, the City of Winston-Salem Human Relations Department and the Wake Forest University (WFU) Art Department are collaborating on a visual art project entitled Transforming Race.

The Transforming Race project will culminate in the presentation of visual art pieces by five public high school students and five WFU art students that address issues relating to racial identity and diversity at a gallery opening on Thursday, June 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Liberty Arts Center at 526 North Liberty Street in downtown Winston-Salem. The opening is free and open to the public. The art will remain on display at the Liberty Arts Center for just one evening before traveling to high schools throughout the county during the next academic year.

Photo credit: Paul Marley, WFU Art Department.

The ACCORD initiative, which stands for Artists Contributing to Civic-Oriented and Responsive Democracy, is a project of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts dedicated to sparking dialogue about the essential role of the arts and civic-minded artists within a thriving democracy. Through this initiative, the Institute is partnering local nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies with area college students to create arts-based projects that address community needs and/or social issues.

The high school and college students participating in the Transforming Race project are working together in pairs to examine racial attitudes, personal experiences, and the overall relevance of diversity. The goals of Transforming Race are to: create a dialogue among participants about racial identity that leads to insights about those different from themselves; have participants work together to find words, images and metaphors that can communicate the problems and joys of being a person raised in a multiracial, post-segregation society; use the content developed in the workshop to create art objects that convey the feelings, attitudes and conclusions of the participants; and use the art to communicate issues of racial identity beyond the participants to the high school community and further.Participants in the project include five artists from WFU: Becky Bowers, senior; Courtney Whicker, junior; Mary Alice McCullough, freshman; Katie Wolf, freshman; and Lauren Arrington, junior; as well as a videographer, Courteney Morris, senior. Participating high school artists are Rae-Yao Lee, a junior at Reagan High School; Victor Mendoza, a junior at Parkland High School; Elizabeth Rosales, , a junior at Parkland High School; Brandon Wilkins, a junior at Parkland High School; and Jonathan Cunningham, a sophomore at Mt. Tabor High School.

Transforming Race is the second project of the ACCORD Initiative. This partnership project is a strong example of such community outreach. For more information, contact the Kenan Institute at 722-0030.

Gulu Choir Sings "Home"

Although The Voice Project is by no means local organization (it's based in Uganda), it offers a truly inspiring example of social change through art. Ravaged by conflict and war, Ugandan women, victims of rape and widowhood themselves, are using songs to bring home boy soldiers who have fled to the bush in shame and fear of the violence they committed. These songs are played on the radio or sung by women's choirs in villages across Uganda.

I found out about the organization because of an international exchange in which musicians offer up their talent and music in various ways to help bring attention to the work of the Voice Project. The Gulu Women's Choir sings a song I enjoy, "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I applaud these musicians for bringing attention to the project with their voices, but the truly remarkable voices are those of the women who communicate love, acceptance, and forgiveness with their voices.

"Home" in Gulu from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

Alternate ROOTS Annual Meeting in NC!

Alternative ROOTS Annual Meeting Website: Click Above

Piedmont Interfaith Council Activities

Piedmont Interfaith Council invites students to join the Children's Tapestry Chorus any time. Rehearsals just started January 5th. However, you can't miss out on "Loving God--Loving Neighbors," the once-a-year observance of World Religion Day, which will be held this Sunday at 3 PM. Check out the above links for more details.

World Religion Day 2009 by Sharon Hodgson

ACCORD Grant Concept Proposals Due in Mid-November

What is the ACCORD Initiative?

ACCORD is an acronym for Artists Contributing to Civic-Oriented and Responsive Democracy. It is a project of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, which, according to Kenan Institute materials, "sparks dialogue about the essential role of the arts and civic-minded artists within a thriving democracy.

It is an effort to encourage collaboration between nonprofits, community organizations, charitable groups, and governmental agencies with local college students to create arts-based projects that address community needs and/or social issues.

Organizations can apply for grants for up to $2,5oo to complete this type of local, collaborative project. Concept proposals are due November 19, 2009. The most important thing is for organizations to identify the social issue they would like to address.

Please e-mail Amanda Balwah at amandab@kenanarts.org for more information on guidelines. Training workshops are available for organizations who would like assistance in writing their grant proposals.

Snap Shot City

Heard about this from Winston-Salem blogger: SueMo.

Snap-Shot-City is a community development project of sorts that encourages us to explore our local communities and to share what we love about them globally (via the internet). On a preassigned day, people, usually in teams, all over the world snap photos around their community of a certain theme, which Snap-Shot-City chooses. The photos must be uploaded by 8 P.M. Awards will be given out following the deadline. Sign up your team.

Here are two photos from the theme "Multicultural."

Snapped in London, England.

Snapped in Nottingham, England.

Community Arts Sightings: Our Subject Is You, Gumbo

Two public events happened this past weekend that deserve mentioning.

1. Juneteenth Festival- There were a number of Juneteenth events around the Triad this past Saturday and Sunday. Juneteenth celebrates the nineteenth of June in 1865 when the last slaves in Galveston, Texas found out that they were free. Celebrations today usually focus on achievement, education, and the arts.
Derrick Monk and Derek Stallings, two local artists who practice as muralists and have done public art pieces around the Triad were present and did one of the programs they are becoming very popular for in which they rap and paint simultaneously. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and was unable to take any pictures. But you can see them again at Gumbo, the next program the two will be putting on, this Friday night at Krankies Coffee at 9 pm. There is a $5 cover to get in.

2. "Our Subject Is You" at the Weatherspoon in Greensboro- This past Friday citizens of Greensboro were invited to become a part of and participate in several art projects. The Weatherspoon writes that "the artists in the exhibition rely on the involvement of the public in order for their work to be realized." The exhibit features the pieces that were created in the opening and will be up until September 13, 2009- check it out. Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures of the pieces and post them on the blog.

Ars urbi serviat - Public Art in Winston-Salem: If life is a blank book, shouldn't we put art in it?

Here is a link back to a post from another local blog Ars urbi serviat on an art program that the Forsyth County Public Library is currently promoting.

Ars urbi serviat - Public Art in Winston-Salem: If life is a blank book, shouldn't we put art in it?

The Forsyth County Public Library is kicking off its Summer Reading Program with a public community arts project that encourages kids and teens to "leave their mark" by writing, sewing, drawing, painting, and/or adding photographs and stickers to several bound books put together by library staff. Books can be checked out under several themes including "Memories," "Dreams," "Winston-Salem," "Love," and more.

A vital benefit of public art- why we all want it so much- is that the beauty it produces builds our community. It gives our city a sense of place and its residents a feeling of belonging. These books, though not quite so public, also create a community identity by recording the thoughts, emotions, and artistic expressions of our local residents. This collaborative art project will serve as an artistic expression of W-S in 2009 for years to come. Libraries are such great archives for this type of thing- we should really be thinking more about how we can inject our local community into our library.

Project Spotlight: StoryLine

"Sing me that tuneless hum you always sing."

What a line between friends. It's full of comfort, nostalgia, and frank appreciation. This line between Dudley Shearburn and Emily Wilson is just one line from the many exchanges already collected by the StoryLine Project.

StoryLine is a storytelling initiative that works to illuminate the rich diversity of voices in the Winston-Salem community and to celebrate our common humanity. This volunteer-led program uses a mobile recording studio to collect stories from the community. StoryLine believes that listening carefully to the stories of others will hep all people to see their similarities and appreciate their differences. StoryLine hopes the sharing of these stories thorugh radio will create a culture of inclusion in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County in which residents thorughout the community will become more understanding, trusting, and respectful of one another.

This project exemplifies community arts at its best. Community arts projects utilize the arts to tackle a community issue. In a community where studies have been done that show Winston-Salem residents of differing backgrounds often lack bonds of trust in each other, StoryLine works to grow social capital. The stories that StoryLine collects are intended to expose to people of all backgrounds what we share in common-- friendship, family, sadness, courage, adventure, etc.

Another plus of this project is that community members are the creators of the project's contents. StoryLine's recordings are 100% indigenous to Winston-Salem because they come from our residents. And there isn't even an interviewer that guides the conversation. Instead, StoryLine invites participants to share their stories in pairs so that the two can share their memories together rather than answer questions from an interviewer. StoryLine deliberately calls each recording a "conversation" rather than an interview.

StoryLine's 35+ year old mobile recording studio (formerly an ice cream truck) roams Winston-Salem streets while preserving oral history. At the end of the recording, each pair receives a CD recording of their conversation to share their with their families and friends.

So to summarize, we have three things going on: 1. Winston-Salemites gain trust in each other by listening to each other's stories. 2. The creators of the work which we gain this trust from are community members, making each storyteller an active participant in the creation of social capital in Winston-Salem. 3. Local people have the direct benefit of preserving their personal histories through professional studio recordings of their stories.