Youth Connecting Our Community, Redrawing the Map.
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Art in Public: Expressing Youth Voices in Pittsburgh competition.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
2801 North Charles Street
Project City
Pittsburgh
Project Province/State
Pennsylvania
Project Postal/Zip Code
15223
Project Country
Your idea
Name Your Project
Youth Connecting Our Community, Redrawing the Map.
Describe Your Idea
Innovation
What is your idea? What makes your project innovative? Why is it important?
"Youth Connecting Our Community" offers an opportunity to highlight the positives of our neighborhoods and break down the invisible barriers which currently exist on the North Side of Pittsburgh and often result in tragic conflict. We propose a nine-month program for 30 middle school girls from different neighborhoods on the North Side where they can discuss the realities of their lives and how geographic boundaries (whether real or perceived) impact their daily activities and choices. The participating girls will be selected from among girls already participating in youth leadership programs at four different community based organizations on the North Side. Using maps as a tool for initiating conversations about their community and lives, the girls will participate in groups facilitated by counselors to identify their homes, safe places, and points of importance. From these conversations, the girls will gain a foundation for creating maps that highlight their personal spaces of importance and how these are connected to the broader community. Their "new" map will be silk screened onto bulletproof glass. With instruction provided by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, each girl will then be asked to create a 30-60 second video addressing the violence in their neighborhoods. The girls can work together to create a longer video. For example: three girls working together create a skit, dance or performance (90 seconds to 3 minutes long). A still of a piece of artwork, poster or photo made by a participant set to her voice or music. A poetry slam between the neighborhoods, Girls playing basketball together showing good sportsmanship or a specific interaction between the players. A short story written and then read by the participant. Two girls interviewing each other, “Barbara Walters Style”, music, etc. Girls working together from different neighborhoods will have their video aired on each neighborhood monitor. Perhaps one participant from Manchester works with a Pittsburgh Project girl. The ensuing video will show on both Manchester and The Pittsburgh Project monitors. For participating institutions group activity videos would be shown- Girls silk-screening at AIR or touring the Children’s Museum are examples. Monitors, installed behind the glass map where each participating group is located will play the videos randomly, mimicking the randomness of violence. The videos will change the landscape as they play. The map will be shared and travel between the participating organizations. The videos will be published on YouTube.
Impact
What will be the impact of your idea?
Pittsburgh is known for its distinct neighborhoods. This can instill pride, preserve architecture, and highlight our cultures. It can also cause division, misunderstanding, and inhibit full community growth. On the North Side, many of our young people experience community violence caused by conflict between groups from differing neighborhoods. Increasingly, girls play leading roles in these conflicts, often as instigators. Our project will serve three purposes. We will build relationships between girls from different neighborhoods on the North Side, thereby breaking down some of the barriers that currently exist. We will provide a venue for the girls to grow beyond trauma that they have already experienced (direct or indirect) from community violence. Finally, the artwork will first be displayed in a public venue and then travel from community to community serving as a reminder of the girls’ shared experience. The connections made and fostered through this project will increase the likelihood of our young people growing into community minded young adults who make wise choices and lead others away from violent actions.
What will it take to launch your idea? How will you secure community support and youth participation?
Approximately 8-12 girls participating in programs from each collaborating organization will join Youth Connecting Our Community. Each youth-serving agency will provide staff to transport the girls to the meeting sites, which will move between neighborhoods, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Artists Image Resource, and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, offering supervision/assistance during the meetings. AIR will teach silk screening, Filmmakers will provide instruction on video and editing and The Children's Museum will serve as a creative catalyst, demonstrating how abstract concepts become art pieces. Primary costs relate to art creation, (materials, equipment, instructor time, artist time) and facilitation of the meetings (practitioners' time, meals for the participants.) BUDGET: $29,000 Additional funding sought: Pennsylvania Partners for the Arts grant, Labotanica grant
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
We are looking for ideas from people who can make them happen. Tell us about yourself or your team.
We are a group of youth serving agencies on the North Side, mental health professionals, and community grounded artists. Our group currently includes youth programs at Manchester Youth Development Center, New Hope Neighborhood, Project Destiny, and The Pittsburgh Project. Mental health practitioners coordinated through the Allegheny-Singer Research Institute will guide the monthly discussions, offer support specific to the issues raised by the participating girls, and publish the research findings. Artist Sandy Kessler Kaminski, has collaborated with projects on the North Side and has years of experience working with children. The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is a national leader in working with children and those who work with or on behalf of children. Artist Image Resources (AIR) has a long history of educational programs to engage youth in all aspects of the art process. Pittsburgh Filmmakers is well known for innovation and instructing youth in all aspects of video and filmmaking. We are motivated by our desire to create a larger community where girls have the opportunities and resources to become leaders in our communities and for our city.
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Comments
Hi Sandy,
This looks to be a really interesting twist on asset mapping. I also think the concept of a map as "public art" is intruiging.
To what extent to you see the videos as important to this project. What value do they add? I imagine the costs could come dramatically down with a straightforward silk-screening.
Also, it also sounds as if you have already assembled a group of partners and sought funds for this project. What are the key next steps for you and your team?
Thanks for your contribution,
Joseph
Joseph,
Initially, the concept was a straighforward silkscreening approach of a HUGE map on polycarbonate (ie. bullet proof glass), with documentary video of some of the meetings shot at AGH. While the initial concept of a silkscreened map would be a beautiful piece of art, I felt that the girls would not be as invested in the final piece because of the scale and other technical issues involved in its construction. ( Silk screening on polycarbonate can only be done with enamel ink and is expensive.) But as I thought about the girls and what the overal goal of the project was, I realized the silkscreened map left out the process of the different individuals/ neighborhoods becoming one larger community. The process is where the girls can be best heard. The North Side of Pittsburgh is famous for the individual neighborhoods not talking. This is a real barrier built on fear. Showing how to break even the smallest hole into that wall will reverbrate through the greater Pittsburgh Area. The video accomplishes several things. First, the girls can say "I contributed that". Through the use of YouTube, their voice will reach far beyond any neighborhood barrier. They will use images and sound to tell their story instead of being passive consumers of media. Their images change the landscape. The girls will understand the power of the individual working within a larger group to exact change. Most importantly, girls who, because of geographic location will see they have more in common instead of using location as a cause for violence.
Actually, we came together because of this grant. I am finishing up a public art project located in the North Side. While working on it I witnessed how the kids could/ would not walk down certain streets. Freely walking around one's own neighborhood should be a given. When I began talking to the various service groups I became both humbled and inspired by their determination to build up their communities. The groups told each other about their various programs. In doing so, we realized that the girls were instigating violence in all neighborhoods and that there was a need to get them talking. In writing this proposal, groups that did not talk or work together are coming together because we all understand the urgency of the situation in the North Side. Receipt of this grant will build these newly formed relationships into partnerships. Today, the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh joined us. We are looking for a venue to show the work, centrally located, where all participants will attend because they feel safe. Continue asking North Side organizations to participate. Meeting with concerned parents/caregivers would be next.
Dear North Side Collaborative,
Congratulations from Ashoka's Changemakers!
Best wishes,
Joseph
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