"What is Freedom?" - Banners 2021
A collaboration between the TAP 2021 participants and the resident artist Janaina Vieira-Marques.
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ART STATEMENT
“For the past three years, I have launched a series of art encounters in combination with art education programs. They were designed to inspire passion and release authentic voices of high school students to develop public art projects to be displayed and beautify their communities”.
The encounters aim to be the catalyst for teens to connect with one another and to manifest their ideas and amplify their voices through the arts. The format that I have created is based on mutual collaboration. We spent weeks generating ideas prompted by a theme and we developed art pieces to be displayed outdoors taking in consideration the audience.
The discussions are focusing on topics that resonate in their own lives, such as LGBTQ+ pride, cultural and gender identities, religious tolerance etc. This year I worked with the TAP (Teen’s art program), a program at the Missoula Art Museum, helping them to launch their TAP summer series addressing the question: “What is freedom?”. Inspired by the Declaration of Independence but broadened to encompass the diverse perspective of young people in today’s world.
This specific question came upon my personal experiences being an immigrant in this country, from the systemic racial events that 2020 brought to the surface, and from a world suffering with the COVID-19 pandemic. I was interested in hearing from the youth perspective how they were coping with it all and how they would coexist with people that may think differently.
During this process, sharing a studio space, the teens were invited to work with me in problem solving and learning from one another. Together we created a space that was safe for manifestation of ideas and opinions, and where they learned to coexist respectfully and peacefully.
I always learn within this process. I’m refining my own skill sets as a member of a large community by collaborating, creating safe spaces for the expression of differences, where mutual respect and tolerance are essential elements to create a better world for us.”
“For the past three years, I have launched a series of art encounters in combination with art education programs. They were designed to inspire passion and release authentic voices of high school students to develop public art projects to be displayed and beautify their communities”.
The encounters aim to be the catalyst for teens to connect with one another and to manifest their ideas and amplify their voices through the arts. The format that I have created is based on mutual collaboration. We spent weeks generating ideas prompted by a theme and we developed art pieces to be displayed outdoors taking in consideration the audience.
The discussions are focusing on topics that resonate in their own lives, such as LGBTQ+ pride, cultural and gender identities, religious tolerance etc. This year I worked with the TAP (Teen’s art program), a program at the Missoula Art Museum, helping them to launch their TAP summer series addressing the question: “What is freedom?”. Inspired by the Declaration of Independence but broadened to encompass the diverse perspective of young people in today’s world.
This specific question came upon my personal experiences being an immigrant in this country, from the systemic racial events that 2020 brought to the surface, and from a world suffering with the COVID-19 pandemic. I was interested in hearing from the youth perspective how they were coping with it all and how they would coexist with people that may think differently.
During this process, sharing a studio space, the teens were invited to work with me in problem solving and learning from one another. Together we created a space that was safe for manifestation of ideas and opinions, and where they learned to coexist respectfully and peacefully.
I always learn within this process. I’m refining my own skill sets as a member of a large community by collaborating, creating safe spaces for the expression of differences, where mutual respect and tolerance are essential elements to create a better world for us.”
