The quality and impact of school-based workshops took center stage
with Will Power. A number of students, primarily those working with the
group Students at the Center, were inspired to create and perform
original poems and essays about their lives and communities.
Local artists (Paul Deo, DJ Roj Smooth, Nabii and Jeffrey Cook) became
involved in the residency this time to great effect. The Contemporary
Arts Center, having already planned a local hip hop event the week
before Will Power's performance, worked with the Coalition
organizations, particularly Northstar Village, to build additional
momentum and activities.
These local artists worked with Luminating Works' Will Power and DJ
Reborn to prepare Douglass High students for a brief performance in the
school auditorium later that week. The artists built a relationship
with the students, set the tone, shared their skills and directed the
work in the two to three sessions allowed them. "Raisin' the Roof!" the
Thursday performance, was a total success in terms of show presentation
and content. The students displayed exceptional talent, particularly in
light of the short time frame.
Students from Douglass High opened the show for Will Power at that
Friday night performance. Once again, the response from both the
students, the artists and the audience, was inspiring.
The discount package (which consisted of free transportation and a
discount ticket, but this time without dinner and childcare) was gaining
interest from other community collaborators, particularly local
churches.
It was also during the intense period of planning and collaboration
leading up to the Luminating Works residency that the Douglass Community
Coalition made an important decision. After much discussion, the group
agreed that rehabilitating the historic Douglass High School auditorium
as a vital cultural, educational and economic community asset should
become a primary short-term objective of the Coalition.
This decision helped bring Weaving the Web, and the
artist-educator-organizer model, into much sharper focus. The goal of
rehabilitating the auditorium made the connections tangible:
Cultural events in the auditorium could help raise money and attention
for the coalition's organizing campaign.
The organizing campaign could
help create a venue and an audience base for the artists.
The art and
organizing efforts could create hands-on learning opportunities for
Douglass students.
