Cancelled Hours:
2/8 6.5 hours at Silverwood, cancelled due to weather
2/19 6.5 hours at MIA
2/20 2 hours with Little Earth, cancelled due to weather
MIA - Krista and Angela - residency - 4.5 hours
Little Earth - Heidi - shadowing - 0.5 hours
This week I was able to meet with Heidi from Little Earth and the other two MCAD students shadowing there this semester. Heidi explained to us what this semester would look like, who the group is, her background and asked for our ideas of how to best engage and connect with the students. Unfortunately our meeting was with Little Earth that night was cancelled due to the weather but I’ll get to be with them twice this coming week.
This week also brought my first experience at the MIA. It was Third Thursday at the museum. As it is Black History Month, the theme was Afrofuturism. I was in the studios assisting the visiting artists with their projects. There was a collaborative art activity led by Donald Thomas, and zine-making with the Million Artists Movement. I primarily worked with Donald. His art activity was based around Affirmation Mirrors. He created two site specific installs of weaving around a mirror. Visitors were encouraged to write an affirmation or gratitude and hang it on the wall. They were welcome to speak them aloud in the mirror as well.
I’ll be honest, I felt awkward when I first got there. My contact directed me to the studios and said she wouldn’t be around much and I should help out there. I got to the studios and the zine making activity was 95% set up. No one was there to introduce me and those in the studio clearly had no idea I was going to be there. I had to step up and explain that I was an MCAD student and a teaching artist and just here to help in any way I could. I didn’t have an ID, no visitor badge, no previous meeting with the studio manager. It was awkward and I almost felt like I didn’t belong. But I reminded myself I’ve been in museum studio spaces like this before and that above all I was there to help and learn.
Donald didn’t ask for help, I made my way over to his side of the studios and asked if he needed any help. He was appreciative and took time to connect with me and explain the project so I could finish setup while he worked on the weavings. He was a very open, relaxed person t be working with. Even once the activity was open, he remained hands off, saying that if was self-directed. I noticed as people walked into the space they had little to no idea what was going on and wanted some direction. I was able to step in a explain the activity and answer questions. Despite my lack of identification as an employee or visiting employee, people seemed to recognise that I was there to help.
Once they knew what was going on, people got really into the activity. Donald’s manner seemed to seep into every part of the room. The space felt very open, relaxed, accepting and non-judgmental. People tended to sit for a while, writing multiple affirmations and discussing with the people they came in with. I was able to share with Donald my personal experience with the activity and his work which was a reflection he really appreciated. We discussed other possible implementations of his work. It was a really amazing workshop.
The zine making activity was really popular. It was constantly busy and had people staying and working for up to an hour and half. While both were fairly self directed, the zine making activity required a bit more explanation from the artist. While I really admire Donald’s approach to just let people go and work on their own (these were adults after all), most people seemed to be looking for a little more direction especially when they first walk in. He had plenty of sheets explaining the activity, but they weren’t noticed until you sat down at a table. It’s good to note that adults sometimes need more invitation than the children I’m used to that are happy to just run in and play with whatever they can get their hands on. Adults, especially in a museum, tend to be more hands off and need to be reminded that play is allowed and good in this creative space.
I hope I get to return to the MIA Studio space. I can’t wait to see what else goes on there.
the studio space all set up for the affirmation mirror activity
Donald encouraging a visitor to speak their affirmation aloud