Focused on Our Dreams

Focused on Our Dreams — Art Activism with Youth Organizers

The Kentuckians for the Commonwealth storefront office is filled with inviting light and large colorful graphics. Near the entryway is an abundance of fresh fruit, doughnuts and juice. The young people, ages 10-14, are seated at separate tables and quiet, very quiet. Maybe just waking up, maybe unsure of what they’ve signed up for. Flaco leads us through a breathing exercise and Power 101. We each get a pin for being attentive, and absorbing the teachings.

Then it’s my turn — a writing workshop. I pull two tables together and gather us close before handing out stacks of index cards. We get started. I offer prompts and we each take a moment, but not too long, to respond, then pass our card face down to the plate in the middle of the table. Before long the plate is overflowing with cards. We shift to an accordion poem exercise that my father taught me over forty years ago. I fold the paper back and forth, two lines at a time until it looks like an accordion. We pass it around the table and each person writes the next line, only seeing the line before. When it circles back, I unfold the paper and read our poem. Everyone’s pleased and trust begins to crystalize. I ask Chanelle for the first line of our next poem and she writes “In 30 years my world will have...” I know most Kentucky students have written an “I’m From” poem, so I suggest a variation — I wanna be from... We each draw a circle with spokes going out — a spoke for what’s cooking, a quote, the vehicle out front, color and fabrics making up this place we each want to call home. Other than the prompts, we’ve been very quiet. I tell the young people I trust our process. I know we have written an incredible piece together, and we have. I gather up the cards, the accordion poems and all our wheels filled with want. Back home everything is typed into a long list and little by little moved around until the poem takes shape. Every word incorporated and nothing added. Perfect. 

”As they work they go back and forth between thinking of the locks and chains as part of their life, constraint, oppression, and then imagining a treasure hunt, an exploration, like a video game with levels to master.”

Two days later the bus pulls up to the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage’s Samuel Plato Industrial and Creative Arts Institute and ten cohorts of the Youth Organizing Fellowship file into the expansive art studio. Most are quiet and sleepy — even refusing doughnuts. I am thinking of our exhibit planned for the next day. We have a lot to do between now and 2pm, so I jump right in and read the group poem — Focused on Our Dreams. It feels long, read aloud, to young people struggling to be present, but each notes their phrasing, their words, remembering the different exercises now seamlessly woven together. Other than Flaco, the JCKFTC staff are all in their early 20’s. They listen in amazement and similar to the youth, take the next assignment to heart. 

OK, now, having heard our poem, can we get behind this? Let’s spend the next few hours making art steming from our words? Without pause, everyone heads to the big table covered with magazine pages and starts to rifle through looking for images that speak to them. An hour later each has completed a unique decoupage plate using a glass plate, images, metallic paint, and colored tissue paper. We lay them out on the table and look. Most of the young people don’t share much about their own piece, but with pride are eager to say, This one! This is mine! and as the others share theirs, they speak up, That’s FIRE. 

Next everyone decides which group project they would like to work on — 4 to each group, with the young staff all choosing the collage piece with pencil tins, attached to an asymmetrical board, that open to reveal more. Once in groups the materials are explored and imagery effortlessly emerges. Mani outlines a line of buildings, a huge sun sinking, and a couple sitting on a bench, holding hands taking in Sundown over Rubbertown. On the large sheet of aluminum Kris, a KFTC member, sketches out a mountainous scene with a dirt road, small house and trees. The aluminum had a grid of photos on it and as the group work together quickly selecting washi tape colors and patterns to make the landscape, they realize the hand reaching up, the contemplative Buddha, and the lamp post visible through the white tape work with their design. And those working with metal and wood select the chains, locks and keys. As they work they go back and forth between thinking of the locks and chains as part of their life, constraint, oppression, and then imagining a treasure hunt, an exploration, like a video game with levels to master.

For the next few hours everyone is focused and talking almost exclusively about process; how to adhere items; what to use to cut through plastic; which material looks most like glass. The tool box is open, tools everywhere, with Flaco giving quick lessons on how to use them. Having made their own piece earlier, everyone easily negotiates creative choices and in some cases are happy to follow the lead of another. When the bus comes back, we’ve done it — we’ve created 14 decoupage plates and 4 large group pieces which will be exhibited the next day along with the group poem, original graphic art designs by Noe Middle School’s Art Activism class and several mixed media pieces that I recently made, using found objects, and focused on the environment.

For the day-long event, West Louisville Math and Science Project Exploring Anatomy, I hang the work in the South Gallery of The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage. The exhibit ties in nicely with the math and science project through the theme of environmental justice. The show is balanced with the group poem at the entrance, decoupage plates along the back wall, the mixed media group pieces staggered throughout along with the graphic art printed on a clock, face mask, yard sign, clock and wall hanging. As I finish I reflect on the word curation - cure - to care for. 

Before long, the young people, and staff, stream in and make their rounds darting from piece to piece to find theirs before looking at everything else. The more outgoing youth greet guests and talk about their art. Folks are genuinely impressed and surprised at the age of the young artists. I watch from the sidelines and remember how happy the students were as they created their pieces; and also how happy they are now seeing their art beautifully displayed. I remember the day before, while creating, several said, “This is extremely satisfying”, as if this was a phrase they had recently heard and they were trying it on for size. Yes, art activism, caring, careful consideration — extremely satisfying.

- Julia Youngblood, JCKFTC Member