MIGRATIONS
Harlem, NY
Summer 2018
Lead teaching artist for 14’x26’ mural with Creative Art Works. Oversaw workforce of 26 youth apprentices enrolled in SYEP
Commissioning Entity: Audubon Society, Jacob Schiff Park, Hamilton Grange Middle School
Tying in crucial themes of safety and freedom for immigrants who currently face flagrant political adversity, my group of young artists and I chose to tell a narrative through the sequence of parapets and wall. The narrative reflects the migration of birds traveling from one end of the park and transforming through spacial art elements and seasonal landscapes to the school wall. There, children from diverse backgrounds are featured in a nest where they are fed knowledge from the less migratory Common Redpoll who represents school personnel. Surrounding imagery reflects the site's history and illustrates relevant themes of childhood development. The positive and negative space arrows among the parapets and the school wall further symbolize patterns of migration, immigration, and gentrification as it pertains to the area.
Summer 2018
Lead teaching artist for 14’x26’ mural with Creative Art Works. Oversaw workforce of 26 youth apprentices enrolled in SYEP
Commissioning Entity: Audubon Society, Jacob Schiff Park, Hamilton Grange Middle School
Tying in crucial themes of safety and freedom for immigrants who currently face flagrant political adversity, my group of young artists and I chose to tell a narrative through the sequence of parapets and wall. The narrative reflects the migration of birds traveling from one end of the park and transforming through spacial art elements and seasonal landscapes to the school wall. There, children from diverse backgrounds are featured in a nest where they are fed knowledge from the less migratory Common Redpoll who represents school personnel. Surrounding imagery reflects the site's history and illustrates relevant themes of childhood development. The positive and negative space arrows among the parapets and the school wall further symbolize patterns of migration, immigration, and gentrification as it pertains to the area.
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The Struggle
It rained nearly every single day of this six-week program. We were provided with two tents, however our worksite was widespread and it can be quite hard to motivate 26 teenagers to huddle outside in the rain under two tents and paint for seven hours. With all of the rain, we fell behind schedule and tensions were growing high. One day, we had gotten to a slow start, but finally the group was motivated to set up their worksite outside once we saw that the weather was going to be clear for the rest of the day. The forecast was wrong. Shortly after the entire team started painting, a sudden downpour occurred. Participants scattered about as I watched their paint and water containers overflow sending rivers of color down the pavement. I looked up only to watch with sorrow as their fresh paint glided down the walls, dripping over everything that was already painted before. This was a sad day. However, once the participants and I regrouped inside, they patted me on the back and assured me that they were going to pull through and that we were going to finish in time. The solidarity, determination and support that my team demonstrated that day was sublime, despite having seen their hard work wash away. |
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