Before I headed to Whitney this friday (2/10/2017), I did a quick online check of the courses and workshops that they regularly hold. I was pretty amazed by the number of workshops that were meant for "Family Education". This concept hit me deep. As someone who generally enjoys nerding out alone, I am also someone who gets super awkward if I have to do activities alone when in a large group. Therefor, I found this concept of "Family Education" extremely ideal.
The word family cannot however been taken lightly. I am not aware of the weight the Whitney gave the word when they defined these programs, but to me it means a lot more than the people who live/lived with me. To me family refers to people who you feel you belong with. This could be your bratty little sister who you talk to once a week, or your friends who you spend 12 hours a day with. I think it is beautiful to be in a workshop that helps you learn something along with your family.
Rambling apart, Whitney has a lot of focus on collabarative learning and on education and examination of self/identity through art. Even the pieces on two floors of the Whitney have heavy focus on identity and on the idea of "who are you? How do people percieve you? "
Below are a few workshops at the Whitney that stood out to me.
Suzanne McClelland - Ideal Proportions
Participants used their own body measurments to create pieces of work.
Whitney Art Camp - Kids camp
Whitney - Synesthesia
The piece linked below by Byron Kim inspired my curriculum for the workshop.
I was amazed at how this piece brought up the topic of identity and culture without ever actually saying it.
The entire building was like a little maze. One could never really guess what was around a corner. Seeing a new exhibit always felt like a surprise.
The theatre was a large space with glass walls and high ceiling. The theatre provided a space to feel calm in the middle of all the bustle. I thought it would be a good place to explore the concepts of self and identity.
Paper and You is a 2-hour workshop that brings together members of various age groups to create small origami peices which are a part of a larger art piece. The project aims to explore the importance and essence of communities.
This workshop is meant as a way for participants to explore the idea of community and to convey the importance of collaboration.
Also, origami as an art is said to have multiple advantages, some of which are listed below.
- Behavioral Skills
- Cooperative Learning
- A Link to Math
- Cognitive Development
- Multi-cultural Awareness
- Community Building
In this workshop, participants are invited to learn this beautiful cathartic art along with friends and family. To keep everyones interest satisfied, there are 3 parts to this workshop.
Participants learn how to fold origami cranes with material of their own choice. They are invited to design the paper they fold as well. This way, the crane they fold now has their identity on it. The cranes then get suspended from the cieling to form a curtain of cranes. This explores the community aspect of big projects. How each crane's(individual) identity helps in create a large, beautiful piece of art(community).
Participants learn how to create simple origami flowers and then stick them to a wall. Same as in the first part, participants can design the paper they wish to fold. The room will have projectors and lights opposite the wall which will project onto the flowers as they get added. This too explores the community aspects of large projects.
A group of paricipants gather in the center of the room and begin to make small modules that help in making a large sculpture. Here, each individual piece is not a complete piece unlike the previous 2 parts. To have one complete piece, it is required to have around ~3000 small pieces. Participants will make the pieces and final sculpture together. The space here is mainly aimed at conversations.
Additionally, a week prior to the workshop, there will be pop-up stands in various parts of museum. They will have briefs on the workshop along with materials for people to make cranes/flowers. This is aimed at providing publicity for the upcoming workshop as well as letting people create origami for the final piece.
I have always found origami to be a very helpful tool in conversations. In my prior job, I used to have small origami workshops that helped me talk to new people and learn about new ideas. This workshop is mainly inspired by the positive impact that origami has had on me.