Nov.-Dec. 2011 - Maryland Institute College of Art

Local artists pose on top of one of the community murals that Whitney Frazier spearheaded.
Another MICA alumna who discovered how art could impact young
people is Ashley Minner, who completed her BFA in 2005, her MA in Community
Arts in 2007, and her MFA in Community Arts in May 2011. Born
and raised in Baltimore, Minner sought to bring art to the Native American
community she grew up in. She did so by creating The Native American
After School Art Program, which uses art as a vehicle for Lumbee Indian
youth to address issues that matter to them. “Having grown up in the community,
I think it’s wonderful that you can dedicate yourself, your career,
and your living to doing something you would do naturally,” Minner said.
“And I can instill it in young people so that they might follow similar paths.”
Kayleigh Porter, a ceramics major who graduated in 2010, found that
art could make a difference with troubled young people. When she started
teaching a ceramics class at Good Shepherd Center, an organization for atrisk
youth, she found the class gave some of the girls a sense of freedom
they did not have in other areas of their lives. “I thought it was important
that they have a place to retreat to and still be able to make decisions for
themselves without being questioned,” Porter said. As a result of her class,
many of the girls developed a love and talent for ceramics they never
knew they had.
A Bridge Between Worlds
Of course, it’s not only young people who can benefit from art classes. Gina
Pierleoni, who received her MFA from Mount Royal School of Art in 1985,
runs creativity workshops for women once a month. “For the most part
they’re people who have always yearned to make things,” Pierleoni said.
“What I do is provide them with a garden bed that’s just been composted so
they can do whatever they want with it,” she said.
Pierleoni traveled to Kenya for 10 days in October to help build a school
with the people of Masai Mara. Pierleoni believes such a trip does not only
help the people of Kenya, but also her art. “Being in a variety of communities
deepens my artwork,” she said. “It’s important that my artwork and what I do
are connected and accessible to others.”
COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT 09
Also recognizing how art can impact culture is MICA alumna Julie Lin.
Having immigrated to the United States with her family from Taiwan when
she was seven, “I always wanted to find a way to bridge my background
with my own artmaking and community arts projects,” said Lin. She did so
by having participants in community arts projects share aspects of their
cultures while working together and also by using art to illustrate different
cultural customs. Lin graduated from MICA in 1999 with a degree in
painting and now serves as a MICA staff member for CAC.
Lin also created the Kitchen Stories Project, an effort that lets immigrants,
refugees, and asylum seekers share conversations, recipes, and
memories through artwork and writing. Participants attend workshops
where they share stories and illustrate their experiences through artwork,
writing, and recipe development. When recounting emotional stories, some
participants have even been driven to tears of joy because they are able to
keep their memories alive, Lin said.
(top to bottom) Ashley Minner taking part in community activities sponsored by The Native American
After School Art Program; artwork from Julie Lin’s Kitchen Stories Project.