Wheatpasting!

It's been a busy week writing thesis, starting a new bookbinding/printmaking class at Tyler, planning summer camps, etc. Today I took time out to complete a project I started with the artist-in-residence we hosted at Kensington Culinary arts High School during my student teaching this past Spring.

 Students learned about portrait photography and created emotive expressions. Our artist, Alana Bograd, discovered a global art project started by French artist JR, recipient of a TED prize, where people could upload portraits and have them printed and posted back to them in poster size to be installed in neighborhoods around the world.

 We had permission from the owner of the building across the street from the high school to wheatpaste our posters on a wall facing the school. Our Print Center artists, several teachers from the school,a few students, and even the Principal showed up to help with the installation. It was very messy and windy, but very fun and exciting to see these huge portraits lining the wall.

The Inside Out project to me seems to be about making the invisible visible, making voices heard, helping people take ownership of their neighborhoods and culture. How often do you hear something positive about urban teenagers?  These kids' photos are larger than life and stare back at the school. Most of them were seniors who have now graduated and some of whom are on their way to college. I hope some of the students next year (if the mural lasts that long) feel inspired by it. I hope the students who participated feel proud to be present in their neighborhood. I hope the posters don't get defaced....

JR says, "Art can change the world."
I believe it.
Here's to changing one little corner of Kensington.