ARTSTORIES
Artstories is a term I coined to describe both my art and research practice. An artstory is one’s personal quest for identity and meaning through art and story; or alternatively a group’s collaborative search for communal, intergenerational, and multicultural understanding through shared oral histories, collaboratively written identity pieces on life themes related to psychosocial development, and visual treatments of these themes created by the group. Below are some examples of artstories research I have conducted at home and abroad.
Artstories UK--Scotland
Artstories UK is a research project I conducted in 2019 as part of a Distinguished Chair Fulbright I received through the University of Edinburgh, Moray House School of Education & Sport and the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland. I worked with immigrant BIPOC youth participants in SCOREscotland (Strengthening Communities for Race Equality Scotland) creating artists books about 'belonging.'
Artstories: In Their Own Words
This project, which took place between 2009-2022, is a series of video interviews with teachers who transformed my life and woodcut portraits I created of them (see "Artworks" tab). Each educator was asked questions about their own art education, their art and teaching practice. Some spoke about inspirational educators they had. I also asked them what advice they had for new teachers. The plan is to use the videos in my teaching with pre-service art teachers and to mount an exhibition of the portraits and interviews.
Artstories @ Tate Exchange
In 2019, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) selected me as their visiting artist as part of their institutional membership in the Tate Exchange program at the Tate Modern in London. My proposal involved providing drop in participants with books written from a master narrative perspective, to alter, including the stories of marginalized cultures and peoples. Over the course of 5 days 1800+ participants took part in Artstories @ Tate, in the Exchange space on the fifth floor. It was truly a challenging experience as the project took place in mid July and participants ranged in age from 6 to 80! Thirty books were altered including a book I purchased and altered (see "Artwork" tab) titled "Colorful, Clever Girls." Thankfully VCU paid for one of my graduate students, Teresa Coleman to come and assist me.
Artstories RVA
Artstories RVA was a community-based, age-integrated arts learning program based in the age-integrated arts learning theory proposed in my dissertation research. Participants from the Boys and Girls Club at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School, their art teachers and college students in art education and communication arts from the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA (RVA), engaged in co-narrative inquiry (story sharing) through a collaborative woodcut project.
