Welcome to one of Working Playground's Network Artspace blogs!
Foundation Statement: This year at IS 52 we are embarking on a very exciting project. We will be using theatre and photography as a means of exchange, cross-cultural and global understanding, empowerment and self discovery in order to deepen our experience of compassion and inter-connectedness. We have begun a pen pal partnership with the Eluxolweni Boys Home in Port St. Johns, South Africa. Students have been paired up with a pal of similar age and opened up a conversation where they can share as peers and artists. We have also teamed up with the Photography program at James Baldwin High school. The three groups are all following the same syllabus exploring themes of identity, home. community and world and the idea of breaking the illusions of separateness. For all students Reading and Writing comprehension will strengthen. They also have the opportunity to learn a bit of a new language, Xhosa (a click African language) which is what the boys at Eluxolweni speak. And for the boys in South Africa, who work and study very hard at their English, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to strengthen those skills as well. Students begin to define their unique voices throughout this process and at the same time are able to place themselves in context of a larger world and thus beginning to understand while their powerful and unique voice is important it is just a part of a whole fabric that is connected in the most subtle ways that we can only begin to understand through personal experience. This part of the project will culminate with a multimedia performance using the exchange as a point of departure to create original material. We will use the Photographs exchanged between all schools as backdrops during the performance to be projected as well as showcased in a display in the performance space. Also, we will use video footage sent from South Africa and incorporate that into the performance.
Essential Questions: How do I inspire and educate my world? How do I connect to my community and my world? How does my world educate and inspire me?
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