Blog: South Chicago Art Center

Oct 2008 Blog Entries

Friday, October 31, 2008 ~ Happy Halloween!

Maria's class on Halloween
We had 2 in-school classes do a special Halloween project today taught by local artist, Maria Villarreal.

During halloween class Blake and his pumpkin

Right: Blake Lenoir, an artist from the neighborhood and a
Project Onward participant, shows off the pumpkin he made.

Friday, October 31, 2008 ~ Mural Installation this Saturday

SOUTH CHICAGO TEENS INSTALL MURAL THAT ADDRESSES GANGS, VIOLENCE and HISTORY

What: Installation of 90-foot long mural depicting iconic South Chicago figures and architecture

Where: 91st Street and Commercial Avenue, in South Chicago

Who: Teens who created the project, lead artist Brother Mark Elder, local residents and South Chicago Art Center participants

When: 10 am-4 p.m Saturday Nov. 1

Why: The South Chicago neighborhood was recently reported as one of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods with violent crime climbing to frightening levels. The South Chicago Art Center, a local not-for-profit that provides after-school art classes for area kids, addressed the problems of gangs and violence with a mural project that started in May of 2007 with 16 teenagers and lead artist Brother Mark Elder, a DePaul University Professor and muralist.

The colorful mural imagery is of iconic South Chicago figures, locations and architecture. Guardians as the teens imagined in 2007, are of steel workers, an immigrant family, Arnold Mireles, an African-American family and our youth. Background imagery morphs from dogs and cats to streets in South Chicago, from the Calumet and the lake to ying yangs and angels and devils fighting. This imagery was created during sessions where the teens spoke of stress and turmoil in the neighborhood with gangs and the routes they take to school to avoid the gangs' turf.

Brother Mark lays out the mural

Brother Mark lays out the mural
in the basement of OLG church.

Monday, October 27, 2008 ~ Beth's Op-Ed on CPS

Last week, Sarah and I went over to the local Chicago public school to observe a classroom to try out a new evaluation method. I've been to several different public schools on the South Side...click here to read more

Thursday, October 23, 2008 ~ Teen Apprenticeship Program Pictures

Tewz teaching
As promised, here are a few pictures from our new
Teen Apprenticeship Program.
Teens are having fun (and getting paid) to build props like a boat, baby doll, fishing poles, hats, and sweet potatoes.

(left) Instructor Michael
"Tewz" Chlebowski

Teens working

Teen group
Views of the teens in the Art Center
(above & left)

Thursday, October 23, 2008 ~ In-School Program in Full Effect

In-school classes started last week. The Art Center has hired art educators to work in JN Thorp Elementary, Arnold Mireles Academy, South Chicago Community School, and Our Lady Guadalupe School. We plan to add Taylor Elementary and Sacred Heart to this list in the near future.

We are working with a teacher who is new to the Art Center. Her name is Lisa Tasner (pictured right) and she works at the University of Chicago Lab School.
Lisa Tasner teaches the in-school program

In-School Program at Thorp In-School Program at Thorp school

Friday, October 17, 2008 ~ Building the Low Tunnel

Yesterday the low tunnel in the South Chicago Art Center's Artists' Garden was built! A big thanks goes out to Tim from City Farm, Thea Carlson from Angelic Organics Learning Center (who took the pictures below), and Miguel, a community gardener. Some kids from the Art Center also had fun helping out.

Click here for a previous entry related to this

Spreading the plastic

outside of low tunnel Inside of low tunnel

Friday, October 17, 2008 ~ Independent Study

Ceci, an intern at the Art Center, recently created this piece of artwork. It is a digital self-portrait that she then manipulated in Photoshop.
She is entering it in a contest through the University of Chicago.

Good luck Ceci!

Cecilia' self-portrait

Friday, October 17, 2008 ~ Guten Tag!

Sarah talking to the group from Germany
Yesterday we had some international visitors! A group of high school students from Hamburg, Germany came to South Chicago to visit the Art Center and the Artists' Garden.

Sarah talked to them about the neighborhood, our programs, and the local public schools. They were interested in what is going on in South Chicago.

Another view of the group

The greenery on the table? Peanuts from the garden.

Thursday, October 16, 2008 ~ New Teen Apprenticeship Program

This week we started our new Teen Apprenticeship Program supported by the Woods Fund. The teenagers will be working two days a week from 5:30-7:00 for 10 weeks. In this program teens will be paid to first create a set for the play, Raven Black, which will be shown at the DuSable Museum. In the second part of this program, an art educator will instruct the teens on how to teach an art class. Teens will then go out into the community—to the library, YMCA, and community centers—to teach younger children the art class.

We have 13 teens and it is a great group! We will be adding pictures and hopefully video in the coming weeks.The instructors for this program are Roman Villarreal & Michael “Tewz” Chlebowski for the set design and Maria Villarreal for the teaching technique.

Friday, October 3, 2008 ~ Mural at GSDC

Mural view 2
Over the summer, Sarah worked with teens of the Mayor's Job Program at the Greater Southwest Development Corporation to create this colorful mural.

The purpose of this project was for the teens to come together and beautify their neighborhood. This project was organized by Harry Meyer, Deputy Director of Development at GSDC.

Mural view 1