Summer Leadership Institute, 2011

Location: All over and online

Lead Artist: Nicole Schulman

Assistant Artist: Tanya Linn Albrigtson-Frable

Youth Artists: Saradyn Sanon, Sandra Aghedo, Susan Aghedo, Tichina Alexander, Gloryann Anderson, Dakota Austin, Shianti Bratcher, Rebecca Cocks, Emeli Herrera, Casey Jones, Michelle Lopez, Joanna Palermo, Jonell Santiago, Cherry Sompanya

Community Partners: Day One

Medium: New Media, Screenprinting, blog

www.groundswelvhv.wordpress.com

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

During the school year, Voices Her'd Visionaries, Groundswell's team of exceptional young women, identified the research topic of “Healthy Relationships in the Age of Technology.” They investigated the topic’s impact on the lives of women, relating it to their personal experiences as well as the greater community of women in their lives. Over the summer, the team launched a public art campaign that explores different types of teen dating abuse and how those abuses are played out in today’s technology-dependent age. They also discussed what options young women have for breaking the cycle, before it is too late. 

The girls learned Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create imagery for a poster campaign. They also practiced screen-printing and held an “Anti-Wife Beater” workshop to share their message with others.  The centerpiece of the project was a youth-driven blog which tracked the process of their campaign, acted as a resource for young women, and will stand online as a monument to their work.  The project was created in partnership with Day One, an organization that partners with New York City youth to end dating abuse and domestic violence through community education, supportive services, legal advocacy, and leadership development.

This project is made possible through the generous support of EILEEN FISHER. Major financial support for Groundswell's 2011 Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) is also contributed by Brooklyn Community Foundation, Catalog for Giving, Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, Edelman Community Investment, Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation, Johnson Ohana Charitable Trust, Lambent Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation, in addition to numerous individuals.