ART 4 LIFE @ CAM
A collaboration with Arts Corps
Last month, CAM welcomed twelve young artists from the Seattle area for Arts Corps’ annual Art 4 Life summer intensive. For two weeks, twelve students took up residency in CAM’s space, dreaming and developing multiple projects. Though the program was organized and led by the amazing Arts Corps team of Adam Collet, Arielle Labra Campos, Eris Eaton, CAM members Whitney Bashaw, Simon Wolf, Scout Strenfel and Timothy Firth taught workshops in marbling, printing, observation, and graffiti.
Arts Corps’ vision is “a world where barriers to arts education no longer exist and all young people can creatively lead the transformation of schools, neighborhoods, and beyond.” Arts Corps leads creative and culturally-driven arts programs both within and outside the school classroom, including free online learning resources. Arts Corps teaching artists teach with a social justice framework that empowers the next generation of Seattle artists.
“It’s solidified how much I want to make art.”
Nia, Art 4 Life Student
Art 4 Life’s teaching artists Arielle and Adam focused the curriculum around the students and what messages they wanted to put out in the world. They provided a framework for learning new skills, and time to practice. Focusing on issues important to them, the students were busy creating zines, protest signs, collages, linocuts, sketches, and newspaper ads. With the program expanding from last year’s one-week program to this year’s two, students had more downtime, which meant more art-making. Fueled by catered lunches and a shared playlist that Adam, Arielle, and the students contributed to throughout the week, projects that began as a zine on the first day of workshops transformed into a collection of archives. The workshops culminated in a group risograph newspaper and time capsule, now-buried inside the walls of CAM Annex.
The students were eager to talk about what they loved about the program. Nai remarked, “It’s rare to get this much time to spend on art. A lot of artist spaces (like in school) are intimidating or pretentious. But here, I feel totally comfortable complimenting someone’s work or doing what I want. Everyone here is just themselves and everyone here is so talented.”
Audrey, another student, noted that the workshops were engaging, and the extra free time was a bonus, “None of us are on our phones. We don’t need to be. When you’re given all of this time and space, and are surrounded by a bunch of talented artists, you’re inspired to spend your time making art.”
Both students noted how Art 4 Life inspired them to continue art-making. “I mean, even after making art here all day for hours, I still wanted to go home and do more,” said Nai at the final celebration and showcase of the student work on July 27th. “After this experience, I feel more confident. I feel like it’s solidified how much I want to make art.”
“I wanted to make something that younger me would have liked to see.”
Alaina, Art 4 Life Student
Other students were excited by the new skills they learned. Will usually sketches with pencil graphite. “I’ve been getting into painting since being here,” he told me, “this is the first art class I’ve ever done, even in school.” Will was also excited to learn more about zines, something that was taught on the first day of the program. When it was time to design each student’s individual page for the collective newspaper, Will took inspiration from his first project, creating an introduction to zines.
Yard signs also offered an opportunity to send a message. Describing her image of a girl looking skyward at a flock of birds, Alaina explained, “I wanted to make something that younger me would have liked to see.” Megan’s sign serves as a protest sign. “ I wanted to raise awareness about the West Philippine Sea. It’s something that’s close to my cultural heritage.” Anabelle’s sign signals a call to respond to the high prevalence of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. “It’s an important issue that no one seems to talk about”.
Students also left the CAM space to explore downtown Seattle, utilizing skills of observation and photojournalism. Whitney led them through the streets of downtown, marking inspirations for creation. Simon took them on a graffiti tour, where students also created their own graffiti tags and tried their own hand at street art. Many of those tags ended up in final projects.
“I keep forgetting I’m getting paid. Like, this is something I would pay to get to do.”
Luca, Art 4 Life Student
While the students engaged in multiple art projects, something that remained constant throughout the two-week timespan was a cardboard canvas taped to the eastern wall of the space. Throughout the program, students, teachers, and guests wrote, responded, and shared photographs and drawings, becoming a sort of community scrapbook and gallery of their time together.
Another unique element of the two-week residency was an artist panel that rounded out the end of the first week of workshops. The panel consisted of painter Carlos Martinez, Arts Corps teaching artist and visual artist Greg Thornton, and local sculptor and bookmaker Mare Blocker. After introductions from the panelists about their art practice and answering a couple of starter questions from the moderator (Eris), students asked the panelists thoughtful questions about their lives as artists: what motivates them, what encourages them to move through doubt, how they push against structural and familial barriers to living true to themselves and their practice.
The students spent most of their second week working on their risograph newspaper and time capsule, both projects that asked the artists to expand on a previous idea from the week before. While you can grab your newspaper copy at CAM, the time capsule won’t be opened for another few decades. Poems, drawings, and collages will be found and discovered in many years-time.
We adored having the creative curiosity and brilliance of these young artists in our space. With a beautiful culmination of their work with the final showcase on July 27th, the students, Arts Corps staff, friends, family, and passersby, got to celebrate and revel in the brilliance of their work. Lucky for us, there is hope for more Art 4 Life in the future. Program Manager Eris Eaton is hopeful that the program can expand to host more student artists in the larger CAM Annex in the future. We are grateful for this partnership with Arts Corps and can’t wait to have the students back next year!
