5 young men in 16 weeks of Immersive Art Creation
On Monday, December 10th the Bubbler team celebrated the opening of This My Life. This My Art. in the 3rd floor gallery of Central Library.
This opening was the culmination of the 6th semester of the Bubbler's partnership between Faisal Abdu’Allah's Fauhaus Project, Neighborhood Intervention Program (NIP) with court involved teens.
This My Life. This My Art is a celebration of identity through the lens of AFROFUTURISM. Produced over 15 weeks of workshops, the project launched by identifying idols and capturing similarities to one another. The group then used material from a photography sessions with Faisal Abdu'Allah to work through a progression of visual disciplines in search of expressing their optimal future self.
Abdu’Allah described the project as "a progression of interest and voice that evolved into creating a better version of themselves though art."
The experience of NIP was a court assigned obligation for the young men involved, as boys group direct Alan Chancellor stated, "we didn't choose each other, but these experiences have evolved into a mentorship, a family, and dramatically impactful experience for everyone involved."
Power of Engagement
At the opening, Chancellor beamed as he described this cohort of students. "I have never had such a focused group of young men as these young men. Week after week I would tell them, 'We have to go.'"
Bubbler media instructor Rob (Rob Dz) Franklin, laughed and reiterated that they had to be "kicked out" of the Bubbler every week. To start, the teens didn't even know about the show the end cap to their experience, their engagement was more tied to the process of creating the art.
Chancellor explained, "It was always about again. When are we coming to do this again. It was such a beautiful thing. They worked so hard and cared so much, but didn't care about the end." Coming through the justice system, teens often receive a negative label. The impact of the program is to move "beyond the paperwork" as Chancellor described. Providing these youth with an opportunity to positively redefine who they are through their work.
While the teens themselves were a little embarrassed (but also pleased) by all the positive praise being showered on them at the show, it was clear that their community was excited about the opportunity to celebrate the work and dedication.
The This My Life. This My Art. opening was attended by the friends and family of the artists, as well as the program organizers and teens' case workers, all of whom were eager to brag about the success of their kids.
Additional Reading
See more of the teen's work on and learn more about the process at: http://teenbubbler.org/creations/my-life-my-art
Read more about the Fauhaus project and Bubbler partnership in this semester's Impact newsletter from the UW school of education at: http://news.education.wisc.edu/news-publications/learning-connections/2018-fall/fauhaus
