09/28/2010

Our Project proposal went very well. No we just have to start contacting everyone we know and can think of to get the ball running. Jeremy has provided us with a huge list of contacts that have been accumulated and we spent all night coming up with a basic synopsis and letter of interest to individuals and organizations as well as an expanded artistic mission for those who seem like the might need to know more or might be interested in helping shape the art project part as well as the community kid facilitation. Here is that letter:

Greetings,

I am writing to you because my partner Jennida Chase and I (Hassan Pitts) are interested in inviting SHEILD (you, your teens and their mentors) to participate in a youth-based, community-oriented event at the Elsewhere Collaborative Living Museum in downtown Greensboro on October 9, 2010. This event is aimed at providing a workshop environment in which young people can play and explore the possibilities in making music, sound and art. We are hoping to assemble local artist, musicians and community members to help facilitate and interact with the youth during this guided experience.

We propose to bring in approximately 10 to 15 “at risk youth” who are in their early teens around the age of 13 to engage in a hands on sound and music workshop. This workshop’s main intent is to foster the idea of broadening perspectives and finding new and innovative ways to express oneself and shape one’s experiences.

The young people will have the opportunity to interact with artist, musicians and community role models during dinner and a guided exploration of the creative possibilities of experimenting with sound and music.

My partner and I are collaborative artists currently in residence here at Elsewhere. We believe in pairing our own creative practice with community engagement and outreach. We are hoping to provide a context in which youth can engage in an activity within the space of Elsewhere’s Living Museum and amongst mentors that already exist here in Greensboro, which we hope will facilitate creative learning and the potential for effecting positive change. Last year, both Jennida and I completed our MFA’s from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. Recently, we have spent time teaching in VCU’s African American Studies community outreach project ‘Peep This Film Camp’, an outreach who’s aim is to teach documentary filmmaking techniques to ‘at risk’ youth as a way to empower and give voice to people who may have not found theirs yet. We hope to continue this idea and expand on it while we are here in Greensboro.

If you think SHEILD or your participants have time or interest in joining us for this event. We would be HONORED to have you and your teens and their mentors to participate! If you have questions, concerns or ideas, we would love to talk to you more in depth about this project.


It is logical if not paramount that we get members of the community and existing social and community organizations involved as they are the permanent structures already in place and will continue to play a roll in these children’s lives. We don’t want to seem like we are coming into the community with all of the answers, in fact we don’t, we just have a different way of delivering the same message, and if the message isn’t very clear or falls on deaf ears, I want this to be as fun, and entertaining for these kids and give their care givers a break for a couple of hours and enjoy a meal. Change the scenery for a little bit. And besides, Elsewhere is a Kid’s Dream. Kids and Artist are not that far off in this regard.