Artists and Kids 2002 Artist + Kids Artist Residency began July 15 PITTSBURGH, June 21, 2002—The Society for Contemporary Craft's 2002 Artist + Kids program entitled Identity and History: The Story Behind the Image places three professional artists — internationally known sculptor and drummer Maxwell Kofi Donkor, nationally recognized fiber artist Tina Brewer and glass and mixed media artist Mary Martin— in a four-month long residency program with 15 students from Reizenstein Middle School in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood. Collaborating with community-based organizations such as Women of Vision and The Carnegie, this year's Artist + Kids program seeks to develop the students' understanding of their role in their community, while engaging them in the creative process. Funded by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the Multi Cultural Arts Initiative, this summer program creates an enriching experience for youth and encourages exchange and sharing of resources between artists and communities. The four-month long project consists of two program components. The first component, which was held in May at Reizenstein Middle School, consisted of eight after-school sessions team-taught by Women of Vision artists, Mary Martin and Tina Brewer. In these after-school sessions, Martin and Brewer worked with the students to create masks and scarves introducing Adinkra symbols and storytelling skills that the students will encounter in the second component of the program.
For the second part of the program, during the month of July, students will work intensively with African sculptor and drummer Maxwell Kofi Donkor in a three-week residency in SCC's Studio and create a hands-on project based on traditional Asanti stools. Using a variety of techniques students will design and construct thrones and linguist staffs, from wood and clay, to depict personal narratives. Donkor’s residency with the students will culminate in a participatory community gathering to install the collection of thrones, staffs and clothing on August 2, 2002 at SCC.
As a child in Ghana, West Africa, Donkor first learned the skills essential to being a drummer at his grandfather's knee. Since his arrival in the United States in 1992, the artist has been instrumental in the formation of a significant number of drum circles in Eastern Pennsylvania. Reflecting on life in Ghana Donkor states, "in Ghana, art is an integral part of life, and everyone is not only an artist, but practices a variety of art forms, and understands and appreciates the artistry of others. Art has strong functional and spiritual value. While these two characteristics may seem to be opposing ideas, they really aren’t. The art isn’t just aesthetic, but functional. It has penetrated the cultural fiber of the community." The Artist + Kids program was developed in 1996 as a component of SCC's larger "Community Partnerships (Art into Life)." These outreach projects establish off-site partnerships with social service agencies to explore programming opportunities and to reach non-traditional audiences by focusing on the application of art to everyday situations and the use of art-making activities to enhance the development of creative problem-solving skills. The Artist + Kids program focuses on issues of identity and literacy, which are crucial to children as they begin to form opinions of who they are and how they perceive themselves. Founded by Betty Raphael in 1971, SCC is a nationally recognized, non-profit contemporary craft organization. Conveniently located at 2100 Smallman Street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Strip District, SCC has contributed to the region by building public awareness of contemporary craft through high-quality exhibitions and educational outreach programs. Together with the American Craft Museum in New York and the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery in Washington DC, SCC is one of only a few institutions in the nation dedicated to this art form.