In the Shelter of Words
photos of shelter courtesy of Dan Marshall
In the Shelter of Words is a multi-media art installation developed from a writing workshop for young people who are students at Face to Face Academy Charter School and clients of SafeZone drop in center, both located in St Paul, MN.
The project is based on artistic expression in the context of economic hardship and unstable home situations. The art installation presents a visual interpretation of the participants’ lives, a CD recording of their writings, and photos that they have taken. It is a portable shelter, filled with artifacts that represent the transient nature of their lives and the places where they find comfort and safety. The students of Face to Face Academy built the shelter and decorated it. They used a tied dyed cloth they had made in art class to cover the frame.
After it is installed in the high school on September 15th for their peers, families, and staff to experience, the art installation will be placed in community venues such as an arts organization, gallery, community center, church, non-profit, or school, in order to create awareness of the challenges of homelessness, poverty, abuse, neglect, loss of family and identity, cultural diversity, and the courage of young people in facing those challenges. The art installation acts as a catalyst for the wider community to generate discussions about these issues.
In the Shelter of Words begins its journey at
Altered Esthetics Gallery: Creative Collaborations Show
April 1 - 24th
Opening Night Friday April 2
7:00 - 10:00 pm
with special story telling 8:00 pm
1224 Quincy Street Ne Mpls
Gallery hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 1pm–7pm, Saturdays 1pm–5pm
612-378-8888
The students of Face to Face Academy come from diverse cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. Face to Face Academy requires that their students are below performance level, experienced homelessness or abuse, are pregnant or parenting, have mental health problems or chemical dependencies. Due to circumstances of lacking a stable home environment and living in poverty, these young people are below academic standards of their peer group, have physical and psychological problems, and experience difficulty with identity and owning a sense of belonging within the larger community. Their day-to-day existence takes much of their energy. Besides the lack of financial stability, these young people also face violence, inability to take care of themselves during times of illness, and uncertainty about their futures.
The art installation will emphasize cross-cultural, cross-generational, and inter-community communication as the art installation serves as a catalyst for people in the wider community to listen to the reflections of these young people.
In the Shelter of Words was a way to engage these young people in an interactive activity for literacy development. It empowered the participants by giving them a vehicle for self-expression and offers that expression as a way to educate the community of their plight as impoverished and disenfranchised.
I taught the writing workshop using a simple technique of spontaneous timed writing. After we read a poem and discussed it briefly, we used lines or concepts of the poem to jump start free association. I was impressed with how quickly the participants opened up about their lives, their willingness to share their reflections about the past and their hopes for the future.
We are grateful to have received a McKnight Foundation grant provided through COMPAS Community Art Program.
Springboard for the Arts is our fiscal agent, enabling us to accept tax deductible contributions toward moving and installing the art installation. Stay tuned to hear how you might be able to help. We are currently looking for a web master to develop a website for the project as a in kind / pro bono donation. You can contact me on the home page or on facebook.
In the Shelter of Words is a sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of In the Shelter of Words may be made payable to Springboard for the Arts and are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. If you want to send a check, make it out to Springboard for the Arts and be sure to write on the check that it is for
In the Shelter of Words.
308 Prince Street, Suite 270, St. Paul, MN 55101
651-292-4381
You can also donate via paypal on their website.
My original idea for the shelter came from the sukkah that the Jewish people build after Rosh Hashana during the holiday of Sukkot to represent the 40 years they traveled in the wilderness and lived in tents. Traditionally it is made from found materials and you are supposed to see the stars through the ceiling. Meals are taken in it, you can sleep in it (in contemporary times depending on the weather), and friends and neighbors drop by to visit and have tea and cookies. It is a place where everyone is equal. Sukkahs are often decorated with fruit and other harvest designs. After the holiday, it is allowed to disintegrate back into the earth but, of course, our shelter will be moved and re-installed in another location.
My belief that writing is a way to heal, to coach oneself through difficulty, to reflect on the past and plan for the future, and to validate one's experiences, was reinforced by this workshop. The courage of these young people to overcome their challenges has inspired me. I hope it will inspire you and if you live near the Twin Cities, you will come to visit the art installation.
I also facilitated a writing circle at SafeZone, a drop in center for youth who are homeless or live in economic hardship. Safe Zone provides a safe, comfortable environment where young people can receive counseling, help to acquire a GED, do laundry, have a hot meal, or look for employment. Several clients of SafeZone contributed their writings to the installation.
Below are photos taken at Face to Face Academy during our writing group by C. Mannheim, who came to give a photography presentation.
