Skecthing the City
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Sketching <strong>the</strong> <strong>City</strong><br />
The concept behind <strong>the</strong> current exhibition Sketching <strong>the</strong> <strong>City</strong> stems from<br />
<strong>the</strong> work of 19th century English writer Charles Dickens. Dickens is very<br />
well known in <strong>the</strong> English-speaking literary world and is best known for<br />
his very popular novels Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and Great Expectations.<br />
In one of Charles Dickens’s early collections of short stories,<br />
Sketches by Boz, Dickens, under <strong>the</strong> pen name ‘Boz,’ wrote about <strong>the</strong><br />
lives of contemporary Londoners. These short stories and even Dickens’s<br />
longer works do not convey an abstract or overly elaborate view of life, but<br />
instead show life exactly as it would be for an early 19th century Englishman<br />
and woman.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> fall of 2011, The Bronx Museum of <strong>the</strong> Arts and <strong>the</strong> British Council<br />
formed a partnership and held an open call to all New York <strong>City</strong> teenagers<br />
to ‘sketch’ – in <strong>the</strong> form of an artwork or writing piece – a scene that<br />
describes how <strong>the</strong>y view New York <strong>City</strong> or <strong>the</strong>ir respective neighborhoods.<br />
Like Dickens’s works, <strong>the</strong> pieces selected for this art exhibition illustrate an<br />
everyday reality that is personal to its creator and yet still relatable to any<br />
viewer. These artworks exemplify <strong>the</strong> views and experiences of <strong>the</strong> fine<br />
artists, photographers, and writers of <strong>the</strong>ir respective communities, including<br />
<strong>the</strong> landscape, objects, and various members of <strong>the</strong>ir neighborhoods<br />
in New York <strong>City</strong>.<br />
Curators and Selection Panel<br />
The curators were selected from The Bronx Museum of <strong>the</strong> Arts’ Teen<br />
Council alumni. All curators and selection panelists have recently graduated<br />
from high school and are currently pursuing careers in <strong>the</strong> visual arts.<br />
Amanda Eubanks<br />
Travis Hewitt-Roach<br />
Latoya Weeks<br />
A special thanks to Ka<strong>the</strong>rine Casado for sitting on <strong>the</strong> selection panel.<br />
Dickens in Pieces - Teacher Workshop<br />
On Charles Dickens’s 200th birthday on February 7, 2012, high school<br />
teachers from all over New York <strong>City</strong> attended a professional development<br />
workshop as well as a birthday reception at The Bronx Museum of <strong>the</strong> Arts.<br />
Local Dickens expert and Seton Hall Universtiy professor Dr. Jonathan Farina<br />
conducted <strong>the</strong> workshop, “Dickens in Pieces” as a step-by-step process<br />
for teaching Dickens to high school students.