Writing this blog in July, I myself am now back in London and looking back. So SO much happened with our Art Club team and our JUCONI kids from April to May. As my own laptop was broken for those last months I stopped blogging here on my personal blog, but luckily Emily and I posted super detailed write-ups on our cmap blog.
The Art Club highlights that immediately followed the last blog I posted were two weeks of dance rehearsals with local Guayaca dance teachers Sofia Delgado and Thamára Ortega Montedosca that led into the grand finale of the whole "Our Carnival" project that Emily and I had been facilitating since January with our various groups: POP-UP STREET EXHIBITIONS in Sergio Toral and Socio Vivineda!!
Both as exhibitions of the children's physical artwork and as participatory family events where the children had their faces painted, dressed up and danced for their friends and families, these two events, on the 22nd and 27th of April were a massive success, so have a thoughrough read of Emily's write up on the cmap blog here.
The all-inclusive carnival in the streets of Socio Vivienda, where the family, friends and neighbours of our Art Club kids got involved was definitely a hightlight for both Emily and I, plus a really significant point in my thinking about my own practise as an artist an arts facilitator inspired by social activist artists such as JR and Candy Chang. Job applications that I started doing in June offered a time to reflect further on the impact of this type of participatory, interactive art event in public spaces for the communities they are realised in. Emily and I were certainly very happy to hear feedback from the JUCONI orientadores about the positive impact it had for their children and mothers.
I am not including photos of the children on here, so definitely have a look at the cmap blog post to see all the brilliant happenings in images!
