Their comments are the lessons in self-discovery and awareness that teachers everywhere strive to evoke in their students. “I discovered that I’m smarter than I thought,” wrote Jameel. “I discovered that I am capable of seeing the world in different ways,” Zana said. “I discovered that I can do anything, if I put my mind on it, if I try to do something in life,” wrote Yusef.
The reflections go on like this, from the hearts and minds of nearly every student who participated in the Picturing Poetry program, which brought the arts of photography and poetry into the lives of sixth graders at Harvey Austin Middle School for ten weeks this year. The results of their introspective and explorative work will be displayed at the CEPA Gallery Saturday night as part of the 2007 Members’ Exhibition.
The merits of this Joint Education Project, which teams CEPA Gallery with Just Buffalo Literary Center, are visible in each matted print and carefully crafted poem displayed so proudly on the walls of both the gallery and the school (sneak peak above and below this post).
“We’re bringing the kids the power of photography and what it allows them to learn about themselves, and extending that through poetry,” said Cass Clark, the education director at Just Buffalo. “By bringing together two powerful arts forms, the kids are empowered to bring what they value – their neighborhood, their family, their homes – back into the school community.”
Teaching artists Amy Meza Luraschi, from CEPA, and Karen Lewis, from Just Buffalo, team taught students at the struggling east side school in an effort to expand the students’ perceptions of themselves and their community, and to introduce them to the thrill of creating a piece of art.
They started by giving each sixth grader at the school a black and white camera and a theme to follow – windows. Then, through examples and brainstorming, they encouraged the students to think beyond the obvious and realize that windows aren’t just on buildings, they can be found in family members, friends, and teachers – in anything through which you see the world.
The students were free to capture parts of the world around them and bring those back into the classroom. Luraschi and Lewis then encouraged the students to choose the photo that they felt most connected to and write a poem based on it. In the process of these creations, the students learn about more than photography, art, and poetry; they learn about themselves and about each other. Those lessons are passed on and remain in the school, long past the students' tenure, as part of the permanent art collection.
“The kids are from such diverse backgrounds, and when their work is exhibited they are bringing their own community into the school,” Clark said. “The project is a wonderful invitation for the kids to see art connected with ones own self, and how that self connects to the world.”
This it the third year of the Picturing Poetry program, facilitated by Clark, Luraschi, Lewis and CEPA education director Lauren Trent. It is funded in part by the New York State Council of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, M&T Bank, East Hill Foundation and JPMorganChase.
In its very essence, the program is a shining example of the success that can come through collaboration, when visions entwine for the purpose of stretching limitations and embracing a better understanding of the world. “There is something authorizing in this project,” Clark said. “We’re teaching to the whole student, and enlarging their capacity to be understood and feel valuable.”
The ultimate affirmation of the work really comes down to what each student takes away from the experience. Michael’s simple expression speaks volumes: “I feel like I discovered myself.”
