Residency- Venice Arts- Issa Sharpe- 7 Hours
This week was the start of classes at Venice Arts. On Wednesday evening, there was an orientation for new and returning staff. We went over basic procedures and guidelines and also looked into the curriculum of each class and saw some student work from earlier semesters. The work they made was incredible! Which boosted my excitement for the upcoming class.
Saturday morning was my first class. The class is lead by two teaching artists, and another mentor beside myself. We are teaching beginners photo lessons to ten through thirteen-year-olds. There are eleven students in the class, which gives about a 3:1 student to staff ration. For many of the students, this is their second semester of the class, while a select few are starting with the program. Last semester, students investigated the past by describing Los Angeles to a figure of from the 1950s. Students wrote letters describing the changes and current lifestyle in LA and included photos in the letter. As a class, they chose which 1950s figure they would be mailing too. They decided on Marilyn Monroe.
This semester, students will continue time exploration by making predictions for the future. The final product of this course will be in the form of a zine or magazine, in which each student will complete a spread of their particular prediction of the year 2050. For the first class, we introduced ourselves through icebreakers and went over the syllabus of the course. We then broke off into small groups and researched predictions for 2050. The students used their research to devise their own predictions. Their responses ranged from female presidents, to abolishing zoos, to the ability to purchase emotions. We also spent some time looking at magazines and contemplate format and composition. Next week we will start to translate these ideas into photographs.