Roots & Visioning - The Breakdown...

To make a tax deductible donation please vIsit: www.elizabethtraina.com

Prospect.1 Biennial is the largest art exhibition to happen in the US, representing over 80 of the worlds A-list artists, installing work in 20+ locations through New Orleans; from the Contemporary Arts Center to inside the Front Porch streets of the 7th Ward. This project is drawing international attention and tons of art-based tourism to New Orleans. Prospect.1 has allotted only 1% of its budget to youth projects. Myself and Raquel de Anda are fortunate to be working w/ a small amount of funding from the Prospect.1 Education Department to support the Roots and Visions Project. And now we need your support to make our projects a success!

The intention of our program is to support and facilitate youth voice, opinions and presence in the Biennial. We have designed curriculum and collaborated with a variety youth organizations. Our projects have naturally developed to showcase the rich youth organizing in the Crescent City and showcase the vibrant youth movement both new and traditional modalities. Our work highlights the missions, accomplishments and contacts of 10 strong youth organizations as well as gives visibility to hundreds of opinions of New Orleans youth. Our efforts are surmounting in 3 collaborative projects.

• Youth Vision Quilt: A contemporary adaptation of a traditional art form. The quilt will include individual artwork of over 300 k-12 youth of the Jefferson Parish School District. Together, the student’s work will create a rich wall installation documenting a unique collective vision for the future. This work will be exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center, with an opening reception scheduled for December 6th.

• Magazine Project: An exciting collaboration with New Orleans based, youth driven, Hip Hop Teen Magazine. We are working together to create a Hip Hop Teen + Prospect.1 + Roots and Re-Visioning Special Edition. This publication will include visual art and text projects created during Roots and Re-Visioning workshops as well as through a submission process. The Magazine will glorify the unique visions of New Orleans youth while drawing visibility for a variety of participating youth organizations. Copies will be produced and available for local and international guests visiting the biennial throughout the city and on the Prospect.1 tour bus.

• Digital Mural Project: In collaboration with youth from Hip Hop Teen and BlackStar, we are working to install 5 photo and text based billboards throughout the New Orleans area. Students are generating content that express the urgency for social awareness and change on a variety of important topics, such as vision, self love, brotherhood, stereotypes and youth movement makers - in direct counter action to the Crime Stopper billboards. A map of billboard locations as well as process documentation will be included in the Special Edition.

List of Participating Youth Organizations:
YaYa
BlackStar
The Porch
Hip Hop Teen
YOUTHanasia
Craig's Cultural Center
Juvenile Justice Program
Jefferson Parish School Dist.
Re-Think New Orleans Schools
The International School of Louisiana
New Orleans Youth Poetry Slam Team

Roots & Visioning Facilitator Bios

Elizabeth & Raquel on the Mississippi

Elizabeth Traina is a working visual artist, muralist and art educator. She holds a BA in Art and Education from the University of Vermont and has studied in New York, Vermont, San Francisco and Italy. Elizabeth works in oil, acrylic and mixed media and has shown her work in both solo and group shows. Elizabeth is an award-winning muralist and works in that form as means for neighborhood beautification and community activism. Over the past ten years she has worked with youth and taught art K-12 in a variety of settings. Currently Elizabeth is relocating to New Orleans to participate in the Prospect.1 Biennial and as one of the lead facilitators of the Root's & Visioning Program for the Prospect.1 Biennial. To learn more about Elizabeth's work visit : www.elizabethtriana.com

Raquel de Anda is an arts administrator, curator and activist who currently resides in the Mission district of San Francisco, CA. As a student at Middlebury Collge in Vermont, Raquel developed and directed a student led art gallery. Raquel relocate to San Francisco to work at Galería de la Raza, where she currently holds the position of Associate Curator and "catcher of things that fall through the cracks." She also spends time collaborating with other alternative arts spaces in developing new and refreshing exhibitions and performances in the Bay Area.raquel.deanda@gmail.com

To make a tax deductible donation please vIsit : www.elizabethtraina.com