Students of Phoenix Collegiate Academy Las Artes collaborated to create two murals for Global Youth Service Day, April 23, 2010. Preparation to create this body of artwork on Global Youth Service Day began more than 5 weeks ago through an enrichment program at Phoenix Collegiate Academycoordinated by the Cultural Arts Coalition and facilitated by Silvia Rodriguez, Harvard graduate enrollee for fall 2010. The students meet with Silvia 4 days a week for 45 minutes.
The structure of this program aligns with artspace – an initiative spearheaded by the Phoenix Office of Arts & Culture (POAC) in partnership with Arizona Department of Education, ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and Arizona State Libraries. The vision of artspace is to establish a new model of educational experience to ensure students are self-confident and successful in school and can make a positive impact in their community, developing the abilities of students to create work and respond to creative work in many disciplines, building skills for the imagination and innovation necessary for the 21st century workplace. Connecting organizations that share ideologies with artspace, such as the Cultural Arts Coalition and Phoenix Collegiate Academy, is essential to shifting thought around the role of arts in education.
To prepare for the mural creation, the students were read three books: Life Does Not Frighten Me by Maya Angelo, illustrated by Jean Michele Basquiat, Alejandro’s Gift illustrated by Silvia Long and written by Richard Alpert, and Antelope Woman written and illustrated by Michael Lacapa. In addition, the students engaged in art making activities and art history lessons about the Huicholes people living within the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico to prepare for the design and painting of the canvases. Throughout the classes, the students focused on two concepts: We are all interconnected and interdependent upon not only one another, but all living organisms on the planet. We are therefore to “…Honor Family and all things Great and Small.” (Antelope Woman). The students’ comprehension of the art history, art inquiry, personal reflection and art making experiences resulted in the creation of two beautiful morals created on Global Youth Service Day.
Submitted by Judy Butzine of the Cltural Arts Coalition. To view original story visit the link here.