Sunday, May 10, 2009
CAI PEACE DRUM PROJECT - June 2 - July 6, 2009
For Immediate Release: May 11 2009
Contact: Susan Porter (617) 524-6378
Teens Learn from Elders About Life Before Cellphones
Jean Alexander smiles broadly. She is having a wonderful time talking with Emilio Lajara and Abdiel Fonseca about her life. The boys look at her family photos and intently ask their questions. As the three talk in the community room at Julia Martin House in Jamaica Plain, other teens and elders sit at other tables around the room talking. Miranda Desir, Kristie Simono, and Katherine Colon giggle as Joy Fisher, a life-long Jamaica Plain resident, tells stories of her childhood in the neighborhood. Joy still lives in the house she grew up in, and has seen Jamaica Plain change in many ways over the years. Kristie stops the tape recorder and leans in to ask a private question, and the girls giggle again. Joy has an impish look in her eyes. They are all clearly enjoying the interview.
These interviews are part of an annual ritual of Cooperative Artists Institute's Peace Drum Project— the sharing of stories between elders and teens. Each year, teenagers enrolled in the project meet and interview elders in the community and have the privilege of hearing and learning from their stories. The elders also learn about the teens' lives, and encourage them to stay in school, get an education, and reach for their dreams. Hearing the stories gives the teens a glimpse into experiences as diverse as share-cropping, rent parties, and sneaking out on dates. The elders help the teens envision their own futures full of creativity, new experiences, understanding, and satisfaction.
For the past nine years young people from Boston Public high schools and elders from Roxbury and Jamaica Plain have gotten to know each other through their stories. The teens begin the project in October and take part in 30 weeks of arts and leadership activities. Music, dance, acting, storytelling, journals, and visual arts workshops are combined with field trips to artist's studios and museums to deepen the teens' experiences in the arts. After making their own personal drums and symbols, the teens meet the elders and interview them about their lives. Finally, the young people create a Peace Drum for each elder that reflects their own personal story through words, symbols, images, and photos. This year the teens worked with elders from Julia Martin House, Spencer House, Parker Street, and other neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain.
The public is invited to The Peace Drum 2009 Awards Celebration featuring this year's drums and stories on Tuesday, June 2, 5:00 - 7:00 PM. The event, which includes awards and readings from the stories, will be held at Julia Martin House, 90 Bickford St. in Jamaica Plain. The Charles M. Holley Memorial Scholarship will also be presented in honor of the co-founder of Cooperative Artists Institute, and creator of the Peace Drum Project. The scholarship is awarded to a college bound senior or recent graduate whose accomplishments embody the creative community spirit of the Peace Drum Project. The drums and stories will be on exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Branch Public Library, 12 Sedgwick Street from June 3 through July 6, 2009.
For more information about the project contact Susan Porter at 617-524-6378. You can also view the online exhibit of drums and stories from last year on Cooperative Artists Institute’s website: www.tribal-rhythms.org/drum_exhibit.html.
Contact: Susan Porter (617) 524-6378
Teens Learn from Elders About Life Before Cellphones
Jean Alexander smiles broadly. She is having a wonderful time talking with Emilio Lajara and Abdiel Fonseca about her life. The boys look at her family photos and intently ask their questions. As the three talk in the community room at Julia Martin House in Jamaica Plain, other teens and elders sit at other tables around the room talking. Miranda Desir, Kristie Simono, and Katherine Colon giggle as Joy Fisher, a life-long Jamaica Plain resident, tells stories of her childhood in the neighborhood. Joy still lives in the house she grew up in, and has seen Jamaica Plain change in many ways over the years. Kristie stops the tape recorder and leans in to ask a private question, and the girls giggle again. Joy has an impish look in her eyes. They are all clearly enjoying the interview.
These interviews are part of an annual ritual of Cooperative Artists Institute's Peace Drum Project— the sharing of stories between elders and teens. Each year, teenagers enrolled in the project meet and interview elders in the community and have the privilege of hearing and learning from their stories. The elders also learn about the teens' lives, and encourage them to stay in school, get an education, and reach for their dreams. Hearing the stories gives the teens a glimpse into experiences as diverse as share-cropping, rent parties, and sneaking out on dates. The elders help the teens envision their own futures full of creativity, new experiences, understanding, and satisfaction.
For the past nine years young people from Boston Public high schools and elders from Roxbury and Jamaica Plain have gotten to know each other through their stories. The teens begin the project in October and take part in 30 weeks of arts and leadership activities. Music, dance, acting, storytelling, journals, and visual arts workshops are combined with field trips to artist's studios and museums to deepen the teens' experiences in the arts. After making their own personal drums and symbols, the teens meet the elders and interview them about their lives. Finally, the young people create a Peace Drum for each elder that reflects their own personal story through words, symbols, images, and photos. This year the teens worked with elders from Julia Martin House, Spencer House, Parker Street, and other neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain.
The public is invited to The Peace Drum 2009 Awards Celebration featuring this year's drums and stories on Tuesday, June 2, 5:00 - 7:00 PM. The event, which includes awards and readings from the stories, will be held at Julia Martin House, 90 Bickford St. in Jamaica Plain. The Charles M. Holley Memorial Scholarship will also be presented in honor of the co-founder of Cooperative Artists Institute, and creator of the Peace Drum Project. The scholarship is awarded to a college bound senior or recent graduate whose accomplishments embody the creative community spirit of the Peace Drum Project. The drums and stories will be on exhibit at the Jamaica Plain Branch Public Library, 12 Sedgwick Street from June 3 through July 6, 2009.
For more information about the project contact Susan Porter at 617-524-6378. You can also view the online exhibit of drums and stories from last year on Cooperative Artists Institute’s website: www.tribal-rhythms.org/drum_exhibit.html.
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