Letters in the mail

The 4th graders from the Brooklyn Charter School in Bed-Stuy recently started a pen pal project. Ms. Nneka’s class is corresponding with a French school: l’ecole Jules Ferry in Saint Martin (Brittany); and Ms. Marlene’s with the Pioneer School in Worcester near Cape Town, South Africa. After learning about Brittany and Worcester looking at world maps and pictures from the area, students discussed the structure of a letter and how to address their envelope and finally set to writing. Below are some examples of the letters that were sent:

Dear Charlotte,
My name is Liliana Maitland. I’m 9 years old, how old are you? I like your name, it is very pretty. Where do you live? I live in Brooklyn, New York and I’m the landlord. What do you do for fun? For fun I go to the movies, I sing, play video games, I dress up, and I jump on the trampoline in my backyard. Can you show me your picture of you and your family, I’ll show you mine. I have 2 sisters and a cat. My cat is black. One of my sisters lives in Virginia. Do you have siblings or pets? What do you learn in school? I learn dance, music, math, science, social studies and ELA. On Fridays, I have afterschool piano. I love piano. Do you play an instrument?
Your pen pal, Liliana Maitland

 Dear Noah,

 Hello my name is kraig, I am 10 years old. I live in Brooklyn, New York. My birthday is April 20. Every day when I finish my homework I play my X box and my PS3. I go to the Brooklyn Charter School. My favorite sport is basketball. And my favorite type of music is rock. Noah I have questions for you now. How old are you? Where do you live? When is your birthday? What do you do when you go home? Which school do you go to? What is your favorite type of sports? And What’s is your favorite type of music?

 From your pen pal in New York.

Dancer Kristina Hanna at PS 149

Art Beyond Sight collaborated with Kristina Hanna to bring a dance workshop to the students at PS 149. A graduate from The Juilliard School, Kristina has performed works by esteemed choreographers, including Adam Hougland, José Limón, Lar Lubovitch, Susan Marshall, Mark Morris, Ohad Naharin, Matthew Neenan, David Parsons, Edgar Zendejas and others. She joined KEIGWIN + COMPANY in 2009 and has since been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine and in Dance Magazine's "On the Rise" column. Following an introduction to the eight basics dance movements, Kristina encouraged students to explore them for themselves. “You each have a different body and will have your own specific walk, you will jump, spin and run differently than your classmates,” Kristine told them. She then invited them to create a dance. This process began with each student coming up with his/her own movement and sharing it with the rest of the group, which decided whether to incorporate it into the dance or not. Movement by movement, students progressively shaped a dance to live music by Pete Galub, an Art Beyond Sight music therapist.

Designers ‘en herbe’ at the Bronx Global Institute for Learning for Girls

For several weeks Art Beyond Sight has been collaborating with students from the Bronx Global Institute for Learning for Girls, discussing fashion choices and dress codes, and exploring fashion terms through original song writing. The girls also created their own clothing designs (see pictures), which they will soon present to their classmates.

The New York Institute For Special Education at the Whitney Museum of Art

Art Beyond Sight and the Whitney Museum of Art collaborated for the third year to bring together teens from the New York Institute for Special Education and teens from the Youth Insight (YI) program. The evening, held when the museum was closed to the general public started cheerfully with everyone getting acquainted to each other and telling jokes to break the ice. “Have you ever been to the Whitney Mu

seum of American Art?” asked Danielle Linzer, the Manager of Access and Community Programs. “Probably, but I don’t remember,” respond Tiasheem nonchalantly, which got some chuckles from his classmates, Maurice, Clay and Khalique. The YI members took this opportunity to introduce the museum to the group, passing around a small reproduction of it so the students could better understand its architecture and size. Everyone then moved into the galleries, where Evelyn, one of the YI teens, was nervously waiting to start her presentation of the” Circus,” by Alexander Calder. Everyone listened attentively; however, the presence of a “toy circus” in a major museum was quite puzzling to some. Evelyn provided a thorough description of the materials used to make the 70 characters and numerous other accessories that comprise the piece; she spoke about their mechanisms and how Calder brought everything to life by adding animations. YI teens had also brought replicas of some of the characters; these had been made by museum staff. We continued to a new artwork, this one by Eva Hesse, “No title,” a bunch of rope hanging from the ceiling looking like a “spider web.” Another enigmatic and ambiguous piece, it perfectly reflected the rest of the works of art the group explored that evening. Izzie, our next tour guide, did a fine job at explaining the artist’s process , and inviting her audience to ponder the meaning of this work and how much of its actual shape depends on the artist’s intention. The Whitney Biennial was our next stop where we looked at two more pieces by contemporary artists, including one by Sam Lewitt that uses ferromagnetic liquid poured bi-weekly over plastics and other magnets, as well as fan, to emphasize the fluid movements. This was another piece that left everyone with more questions than answers. We ended the tour with an even more bizarre work, a handle from a gas pump covered with oatmeal, a stranger assemblage of everyday objects. By that time, YI teens were relieved all went well and others had built up an appetite. We headed to one of the Whitney’s conference rooms where snacks and refreshments awaited. Once settled in, the teens discussed more pressing business: What’s your school like? What do you do outside of school? Go ball?! What are you reading? Hunger Games! … Me, too.

Transforming New York Skyline

Art Beyond Sight held its first 2012 art workshop at the Andrew Heiskell Library on Tuesday, April 10. Participants were challenged to recall a New York City scene they witnessed, thinking about what they saw, heard, smelled or touched, and the main elements of the scene. If nothing came to mind, they were asked to create an imaginary scene in their minds. Given a stencil of the NYC skyline, they then (re)- created their scene using the collage technique. The accompanying photos show their results. Participants also shared stories about their NYC scenes. Louisa explained that she wanted to create a city scene that would have appealed to her dad; it includes houses, trees, water points and parks. Having grown up in the country, her father never set foot in a city, expecting steel buildings and a too high-pace life.

Dressing for Success II at the New York Institute for Special Education

What a wonderful show the students from the Institute gave us. On Monday April 2, students from both Schermerhorn and Van Cleve concluded the Art Beyond Sight program by performing songs they had written and choreographed in class. This followed 16 weeks of work, during which students discussed their personal styles, dress codes, and visited museums to learn more about fashion history. Students developed their show from A to Z, creating costume pieces, murals, the stage set and lighting.
Students gave a fantastic and energized performance that everyone greatly enjoyed. Congratulations!

The 2012 Art Beyond Sight Awards at the Lavelle School for the Blind

The Dressing for Success II program focused on fashion choices, personal style and dress codes. Students from the Lavelle School for the Blind had lively discussions about what’s appropriate to wear at jobs, at church or at a party. They created their own clothing designs, they wrote songs about their personal style, and tested perfumes and accessories. On March 28th, students celebrated the end of this program offered by Art Beyond Sight. After weeks of rehearsals, they performed the songs they had written and choreographed in class. The show, emceed by Juan Gil, a senior at Lavelle and an amateur rapper, drew family members, friends and classmates.
At the end of the performance, students were presented with a diploma marking the very stylish end of 16 weeks of hard work.