AESTHETIC
OFFERS YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONFRONT EXISTING HISTORIES ABOUT PEOPLE CONNECTED TO THE AFRICAN DIASPORA. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY DEVELOPING & IDENTIFYING ONE'S CORE VALUES. WE USE THE ARTS AS A VEHICLE TO NAVIGATE THROUGH THESE SPECIFIC TOPICS, AND IT IS OUR HOPE THAT WITH EACH PARTICIPANT ACCOMPLISHMENT OF BECOMING MORE AWARE, THEY WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS PROGRAM FOR A LIFETIME
POETRY
Know Thyself - exploring happiness, personal hardships, and allowing for our truths to motivate acts of perseverance
Know Thy Roots - identifying and embracing the history of people connected to the African Diaspora
The Search - deconstructing possible roadblocks and using our findings to create poems
Storytelling -using our agency to define and confront the labels previously placed on us
CANVASation
Discussion - all sessions are discussion-based centered on social constructs used to oppress and marginalize people of color.
Community- establishing relationships through a shared working environment
Self-Expression - creating a unique work of art that represents you and your cohort experience and ideas
The Story From Within
Reading - learning about political actors in both the 19th and 20th century who were incarcerated and used the space to write transformative bodies of work.
Discussion - participants engage in discussion surrounding the content produced by political actors during their times of incarceration and are encouraged to highlight and find similarities about themselves in each reading.
Writing - each participant create a series of short stories, letters, and or poems that inform people of both their experiences before and during incarceration.
EXPOSURE - participants are taught the basics of poetry (spoken word) and painting.
IDENTIFICATION - cultural competency is developed through awareness, knowledge, and research
CREATIVE WRITING - each session is comprised of mini-writing prompts that give participants an opportunity to translate their experiences into stories
MOTIVATION - instructors share their personal journey through dynamic stories, poems, and music.
CRITICAL THINKING - participants are encouraged to explore how and why they respond to various life situations to foster self-growth, and consciousness
PUBLIC SPEAKING - by the end of each program, participants will have performed and/or presented their choice of self-composed art
PARTNERSHIPS
Cal Poly Pomona - Pomona, CA
CANVASastion, Summer 2015
CANVASastion, Spring 2016
CORCDC - Long Beach, CA
Aesthetic Poetry, Winter 2015
Aesthetic Poetry, Spring 2016
Columbia University: Rikers Education program NewYork, NY
The Story From Within, Fall 2016
The Story From Within, Winter 2017
Canvasation, Spring 2017
Canvasation, Fall of 2017
For more information please email Aesthetic@IfeNira.com