Community Development

As we look at the ever changing faces of our communties we feel that there is a strong need to build a connection between community, art and how the two can be intertwined and become a motivating factor for generations to come. One of the major battles taking place in Houston as well as other inner city neigborhoods throughout is gentrification which can be defined as renovating an aging neighborhood: to transform a run-down or aging neighborhood into a more prosperous one, through investment in remodeling buildings or houses. A lot of the times the aging neighborhood is gentrified by force and not by choice. As property taxes rises, property value falls and the heritage and culture of a once thriving community slowy fades into a memory. By involving the youth of the neigborhood as well as the wisdom of the elders we plan on using the art of poetry and photography to bring a sense of cultural awareness as well as a lasting appreciation for the environment that molds the future artist, scholars, lawyers, activists, doctors who will one day inherit the land of the foremothers and fathers. We want to give the youth a chance to document the environment that shapes them, we want the youth to learn how photography can be a weapon that stands the test of time, we want them to see the beauty in what they call their hood or block or street. Many young people of today havea passionate relationship of where they live or where they are from, you can see it engraved on the t-shirts symbolizing street names or sub-divisions you can also hear it protested in the music, which usually ask the resounding question of 'where you from' and you feel the passion as various names are shouted out in unison. But the question we have is "how can we evoke that same passion through poetry and photography to these same individuals who would fight for the right to say I'm from the south side or i'm from the north side". We want to promote workshops where the youth can go out and photograph the neigborhood they hold so dear as well as write about it. We invison a time where the youth can be preparing there future children for what the neigborhood looked like back in their day. We also envision a time for elders who have lived in the neigborhood to counsel the youth on what the neigborhood was and how to cultivate it and help them understand and value the history. WORKSHOPS Students learn the mechanics of the camera, understand line of sight and how a 35 mm camera can be just as powerful as a 35mm handgun. Students will go out to the surrounding neigborhoods and photograph buildings, people, skyline, etc. Upon the return of photographing the students will write verse, poetry, essay about what they see inside of the picture and bring meaning to the phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Soular Renaissance has published a book entitled 'The Beautiful Side of Ugly' which chronicles the city of houston through photography as well as poetry. The idea was to use both art forms to create a meduim that shows how both can be used to tell a story. Themes stem from comparing modern day barbers' to the famous artist Picasso to capturing the emotion of a homeless man who still finds time to have something to smile about. The book is meant to create dialouge and encourage critical thought as to how we define what's beautiful and what's ugly that supersedes superfiacial standards. The book is composed with the harmony of a Duke Ellington composition, the poetry and photography leap from the page as if they were musical notes set to create the perfect harmony of rhythm and syncopation. This book will lay the foundation for future projects to come.