CMAP "CLUB DE ARTE" @ JUCONI
January 2014 - July 2015
Facilitation of arts and crafts workshops for 4-16 year olds attended by the local NGO Junto con Los Niños - JUCONI in Guayaquil, Ecuador, as a professional volunteer arts educator with the Charlotte Miller Art Project.
JUCONI focuses on supporting children who are working in the streets or experiencing domestic violence, working in a therapeutic manner towards the aims of healthy personal and social development, including returning to school and reducing levels of violence. JUCONI acheives this with two teams: the 'orientadores' or psychologist key workers who attend the children and their parents in the family home and the community team, which provides group activities such as Club de Arte to both JUCONI-attended children and their peers in their own neighbourhoods.
cmap's Club de Arte workshops are run with the following objectives:
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To provide access to art for young people in challenging circumstances.
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To use art as a tool for community development and social engagement.
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To use art as a way of increasing self-esteem, confidence and communication for all participants.
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To exhibit the participants work in their own environment and galleries locally, nationally and internationally in order to advocate for a change in awareness about their situation and also develop a sense of pride in the young people's achievements.
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To promote young people's voices through the arts on an international platform for sharing and exchange.
The following projects were realised during my year and a half placement: (please follow links through to the cmap & Hecho Juntos blogs where in-depth write-ups are accompanied by photos and videos of the work and the processes, shared with written permission from the children and their families)
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Our Community: Workshops facilitated in collaboration with fellow cmap volunteer Jonny Browning with the support of JUCONI psychologist Ronald Proaño and cmap assistant Blanca Moreno, Feb - May 2014. Exploring themes of personal identity and integration within the children's communities through activities where recycled materials were upcycled into personal creations that could then be linked into group pieces, symbolising the value of each child within their united community network, such as Our Puzzle, Our Values Tree and Our Peace Park.
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Our Superheroes: Workshops facilitated with the support of JUCONI psychologist Ronald Proaño and cmap assistant Blanca Moreno, May to July 2014. Exploring and celebrating the children's abilities, resilience and imagination through superhero-themed character design, costume-making and storytelling, culminating in filming the kids playing out their superhero scenarios.
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Our Imaginary Friends: Workshops facilitated in collaboration with fellow cmap volunteer Emily Legg with the support of JUCONI psychologists Ronald Proaño and Carolina Sojos and Peace Corps volunteer Joseph Amiri, Oct -Dec 2014. Mirroring the local Guayaquileño tradition of Años Viejos or "Old Years", the children created their own papier-mache characters to mark the festive celebrations to welcome in the new year. The children gave voice to their opinions about 2015 and their hopes and dreams for the year to come through filmed interviews with these Imaginary Friend puppets. See their video here.
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Children's Rights Mural: Two-day workshop initiated by and realised in collaboration with América Solidaria volunteers Laura Magallanes and Maria Jose Abarca and fellow cmap volunteer Emily Legg, January 2015. Transforming the steps by the significant spot of the community's football pitch in Socio Vivienda with images and words selected by the local children in discussion about their rights.
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Our Carnival: Workshops facilitated in collaboration with fellow cmap volunteer Emily Legg with the support of JUCONI psychologists Ronald Proaño & Juan Carlos Álava and Peace Corps volunteer Joseph Amiri, Jan - April 2015. An ambitious multi-disciplinary project drawing on the children's home environments in the sectors of Guayaquil and referencing Ecuadorian culture to explore the themes of family, home and community. The artwork produced was used to decorate the JUCONI truck, so transforming it into a carnival-inspired pop-up exhibition that was presented to the children's families within their communities alongside a dance choreography designed and taught by Thamára Ortega Motesdeoca and Sofía Delgado. The greatest achievement of these pop-up exhibitions was engaging the children's families and communities alongside them in an exciting celebration of their creativity and achievements.
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Spreading Our Artistic Wings: Workshops facilitated in collaboration with fellow cmap volunteer Emily Legg with the support of JUCONI psychologist Juan Carlos Álava, May - June 2015. Activities focused on preparing the children for the end of the cmap art sessions in July by facilitating the making of personal sketchbooks, distributing art materials and practising techniques, and creating space and time for expression of goodbye messages. Alongside this project cmap volunteers also supported local artists from the Asociación Cultural Las Peñas in facilitating sculpture and painting workshops.
The children's work was also presented with great success to the wider community of Guayaquil in the gallery at Museum Nahím Isaías on two occasions:
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Our Community & Our Superheroes, August 2014
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Our Art Club Carnival, May 2015
Many thanks to all the children, teenagers and parents who participated with such creativity and enthusiasm in these projects, and to our JUCONI colleagues for their incredible support.
