View Session 1 Photos on Flickr
View Session 3 Photos on Flickr
View Session 4 Photos on Flickr
The Oxy Arts ColLABorate program brings Occidental students and students from neighboring Highland Park and Eagle Rock middle schools together in creative collaboration. Occidental students will engage in the practice of curriculum development and teaching as they create and lead a group of 15 middle school students through a 4-session introduction to the creative process. Workshop sessions and public presentations will take place at Center for the Arts Eagle Rock.
Collaborate Project Description
In a free series of three workshops, we will encourage students to redefine their preconceptions about the functionality of artistic practices. Posing the fundamental question: ‘what is art?’, we will explore an alternative understanding that is not confined to the skillset of the traditional artist (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc).
The first workshop will integrate food as an artistic process. Providing a variety of ingredients, students will be given the opportunity to approach cooking as a metaphor for emotion and self-expression. The second workshop will engage students to use their bodies in relation to space and other individuals. Students will construct and bring to life their own puppets—utilizing them as vehicles for communication. The third workshop will consist of assembling terrariums using found objects (drawers, old shoes, and misc. “trash”) and live plants! This workshop intends to introduce students to alternative sculptural processes and seeing everyday objects with their multiplicity of use.
The series will culminate in an interactive “exhibition” where students will take initiative to display the processes that they engaged with and the products of their work. Students will independently present their projects to their parents and the community.
About Occidental Student Facilitators:
Lila Chu grew up in New York City where at a young age she picked up her artistic skills from her mother. Eventually leading to her studies in Studio Art and Art History at Occidental College, Lila’s senior thesis culminated in the creation of a collaborative structure that existed as a social space on Occidental’s campus. Invited to activate the space, the audience could use the structure to house impromptu conversation, meditation, studying, crying, and co-existence. Lila spends her free time re-cycling found materials such as old clothes and furniture—creating plant pots out of toilets and shoes. She most values communal experiences involving food, dance, and music.
Sofia Benito is an interdisciplinary artist from Playa Del Carmen, MX where she grew up speaking Spanish with her family. At Occidental College she studies Art History with a concentration on Modern and Contemporary art. In the same vein, she is a freelance stylist concerned with re-writing non-homogeneous narratives. In her free time she goes to punk shows, facetimes with her younger brothers, and hikes in the Los Angeles National Forest. She has previously worked with middle school students at Eagle Rock High through Women Youth Supporting Each other (W.Y.S.E.).
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Steven Paul was trained in the visual arts at Edward R. Murrow High School. Exposed to the arts from an early age, he transitioned from a love of performance to the more traditional artistic practices and has continued to explore a wide variety of interests. Passionate about forming meaningful connections with those he encounters, language has been an important vehicle for his learning and exploration of the world. Currently studying Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College, Steven constantly strives to incorporate his artistic process into his study of politics and international relations. His current project, NOBLANKSPACE, provides a platform for artists to collaborate on socially cognizant public art projects such as murals.
The Oxy Arts ColLABorate program is made possible by the generous support of the Kathryn Caine Wanlass Charitable Foundation.
