iTAG- Art Education and Democracy

Building Together: Art, Education and Democracy
Sunday, March 21, 20101 – 3 PM
Plus 3 more biweekly sessions -schedule to be determined by participants 1627 N. 19th St (upstairs)
St. Louis MO 63106(on the corner of 19th and Madison)

All ages and people welcome – young people, students, teachers, community members, artists, grandparents! A test-driven curriculum pushed the arts to the margins of our schools. Arts based projects at the forefront of our educational planning secure a strong future for our students.

In this Inquiry to Action Group (ItAG) – Art, Education and Democracy – we will collaborate to create art in order to take a deeper look at our personal and community environment, a key part of social growth and understanding. Dail Chambers, teaching artist, will guide participants as they work together to create free-standing sculptures and participate in discussions focused on: art's role in historical social movements; multicultural arts; contemporary art activism and arts based collaboration in classroom activity.

Through our inquiry, creation and action, participants will find ways to transfer basic art techniques & processes learned into their work as citizens, parents and educators. No previous art experience is needed. Participants are asked to bring one small to midsized item that is attached to an experience, place or memory. The requested item will not be used in making of artwork. People should commit to attending 4 sessions.

About the Facilitator : Dail Chambers is a community based, teaching artist. She studied photography at St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley and received her BFA from Memphis College of Art in Clay, with a minor in Art History. Chambers’s artwork is centered around african art, women's issues and social constructs. Most recently she has completed her Community Arts Training Institute fellowship. Chambers has curated numerous exhibitions, and founded the AIDS Project in Memphis TN. She is currently collaborating with National artist Carl Moore. Both artists will share the topic of "Moving Back: Our experiences living in the American "South," generations after the Great Migration. The exhibition is to be held in St. Louis at the Vaughn Cultural Center, January 2011. Her two Spring 2010 shows include From the Center Now!, a national exhibition juried by Lucy Lippard, held in Chicago Ill; and Art as Activism juried by Yolanda Lopez, held in St. Charles, MO.

This four-session Inquiry to Action Group is offered FREE by the Literacy for Social Justice Group with the support of the Doerr Center for Social Justice. It is part of a larger project called “Public Education, Public Voices.” To register, contact Kathryn Pole at 314 977-7107 or email kpole@slu.edu by March 15th.