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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.

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