I am fortunate enought to be a working poet in the area of writing that I care about the most - the education of teens to what poetry is and what it can offer them. Being a visual artist as well means that I'm ecstatic when I can combine the two on any sort of project.
I just completed a rogram that had all three of these factors wrapped into one!The project I was hired by ArtStarts for a 3 month artist in residence had me working with photography students and English students on creating bus shelter ads (non-ads in fact) reflecting their perspective of what it means to live in an urban environment. The finished pieces (about 40 in all) will be shown at the new ArtStarts Gallery in Vancouver, BC, and then they will be juried and ten will be chosen to be put up in bus shelters throughout Vancouver in lieu of the usual ads found there.
I took the kids on a trip through Vanocuver's downtown eastside which has the greatest amount of IV drug use in one area per capita than anywhere else in the world - no exaggeration here! This is an area that the kids have never visited and only held preconcieved notions about - just a bunch of junkies and crackheads - who cares sort of thing, y'know?
When I took them through, I gave them somewhat of a guided tour of when I was a junkie in the area (8 years ago), and then offered what the neighborhood means to me now. The difference in the photos taken by the photography student and the poetry written by the English students before and after the trip is mind-blowingly profound! One thing that I repeatedly emphasized to them is the history of that small area in the overall big picture of the city, and the fact that no matter what condition the people we see down there is, we all have the same basic need for respect, love, care and compassion. I believe that the kids really took this to heart, and I want to do more with them along these lines.
It was an incredible experience to see what these kids came up with for their final presentations combining poetry, photography and graphic design! When I get photos, I'll pot 'em for sure!
Best,
T.Paul
a.k.a.
SwankHipster
www.t-paul.com/index2.html
I just completed a rogram that had all three of these factors wrapped into one!The project I was hired by ArtStarts for a 3 month artist in residence had me working with photography students and English students on creating bus shelter ads (non-ads in fact) reflecting their perspective of what it means to live in an urban environment. The finished pieces (about 40 in all) will be shown at the new ArtStarts Gallery in Vancouver, BC, and then they will be juried and ten will be chosen to be put up in bus shelters throughout Vancouver in lieu of the usual ads found there.
I took the kids on a trip through Vanocuver's downtown eastside which has the greatest amount of IV drug use in one area per capita than anywhere else in the world - no exaggeration here! This is an area that the kids have never visited and only held preconcieved notions about - just a bunch of junkies and crackheads - who cares sort of thing, y'know?
When I took them through, I gave them somewhat of a guided tour of when I was a junkie in the area (8 years ago), and then offered what the neighborhood means to me now. The difference in the photos taken by the photography student and the poetry written by the English students before and after the trip is mind-blowingly profound! One thing that I repeatedly emphasized to them is the history of that small area in the overall big picture of the city, and the fact that no matter what condition the people we see down there is, we all have the same basic need for respect, love, care and compassion. I believe that the kids really took this to heart, and I want to do more with them along these lines.
It was an incredible experience to see what these kids came up with for their final presentations combining poetry, photography and graphic design! When I get photos, I'll pot 'em for sure!
Best,
T.Paul
a.k.a.
SwankHipster
www.t-paul.com/index2.html
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Canada
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