![]() She added, “Science and math awards receive a lot of community attention. Susan Zwirn, professor of fine arts education at Hofstra University in Hempstead, praised the Baldwin school district for understanding “the role of art to empower kids and to help them realize their hopes can be heard recognized and are important in the broader community.” ![]() ![]() This made a very large impact and had a ripple effect in communities like Baldwin.” “Places using this to create connections between children and their neighbors … give children a voice where they didn’t know they could be heard. “We have so many testaments of children saying that I never knew my opinion mattered, never knew that my neighbor would want to talk to me,” Keefe said. Outside of Oregon, about 10 school districts - primarily in the Pacific Northwest and Southwest - have implemented their own versions, she said. With the support of a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and Caldera, a Portland-based arts nonprofit, it became the state’s largest collaborative public art project, Keefe said. Three "Hello Neighbor" students celebrate the unveiling of their work outside a local North Portland, Oregon coffee shop, where their photographic banners were displayed.Īfter the initial unveiling of the project, it traveled to six cities in Oregon. The children then took portraits of their adult neighbors, which they printed with a quote from each person and hung across their neighborhood. Keefe said she taught lower-income middle-school students the basics of photography and interviewing techniques. ![]() Oregon artist and photojournalist Julie Keefe launched the “Hello Neighbor” project in 2007 to bring her North Portland community together after gentrification created a loss of social and economic diversity. Since then, she said, they have shifted to dreams “second-graders normally have,” like being a firefighter or helping the world become more peaceful. “During the pandemic, their hopes and dreams were so painful because they were wishing the world would get better. She said the students’ hopes and dreams have changed over the years. Nomi Rosen, Baldwin schools’ administrator for professional development, implemented the project, which she said focused on second-graders because they study different types of communities. “I want people to help out by giving them food.”Įthan Boodram, 8, stands next to the portrait of himself, on display outside Plaza Elementary School. “I want people to be aware of what’s happening in the world, to be aware of the homeless people and animals,” Ethan said. Now, the third-grader wants to find programs in the community so he can “help out and be involved by donating food and water,” his mother said. We think they are only thinking about video games and not real-world problems.” “When I heard about it and saw the banner, I said, ‘Oh, wow.’ I didn’t know he felt like that. “By him participating, it opened my eyes to what he thinks about the problems in the world,” said Boodram, a mother of two and an account manager. Lucy Cain stands beside her portrait outside of Plaza Elementary School in Baldwin.Ĭynthia Boodram, 36, said the art project helped her see another side of her son, Ethan, whose hope is to “help homeless people and animals by sharing my kind words and actions.” Reflecting on the issue of homelessness, Lucy said that “people who don’t have homes” make her feel “kind of sad inside” and that if they read her banner, “They’ll know that someone cares about them.” Last month, Lucy visited her banner at Plaza Elementary. Lucy, who aspires to be president of the United States one day, also enjoys joining her family and local civic groups, along with the Scouts, to clean up neighborhood parks, said her mother, who has two children and is a freelance copywriter. As a Brownie Girl Scout, Lucy is doing what she can to stave off hunger in her community by collecting nonperishable food to donate to a local pantry, said Lucy’s mother, Emily Cain, 40.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |