art/vision/voice - Maryland Institute College of Art

cap student karrah st. laurent
(attended 2002), leading a critique of
design and color projects in the cap
studio at the jamaica center for arts
& learning.
cap summer in nyc students and coinstructors
antoine touze (center),
leslie hewitt (lower right), and mary
valverde (lower right) while at the
ps1 contemporary art center.
case study: cooper union for the advancement of science and art 77
mary cap validated my own experience growing up. I could’ve had so
much more as a young person, but at least I was making things
possible for others. It has helped me be a better mother, to make
sure my son has access, is aware, and feels empowered. Once you’ve
start challenging things you keep observing and challenging. You
have the opportunity for a different type of life.
antoine I learned how to take responsibility. I was given a lot, and
when you’re given a lot, a lot is expected. When you are truly
empowered you are responsible to share learning. It’s not just a
question of kindness. In the times we live in, it’s a responsibility.
After the third summer I realized I don’t have to wait for
acknowledgement, I’m aware and the responsibility is on me. It’s
about continuing, like the struggle of Augusta Savage, part of her
struggle continues with us. Who’s next? How can I provide them
with what I’ve learned and appreciate what they have to offer.
leslie The summers provided a space to engage ideas and affirm that
art is a necessity in life, a conduit for communication. . . . Given
a little space, comfort, and genuineness, students can share and
we can nurture them as their teachers and mentors . . . to self
confidence, to understand the differences and connections between
African art, Native American art, Western art. . . . If students trust
you, if you trust yourself and believe in what you’re doing, students
can be challenged, and they will rise to the challenge.
robert The renegade aspect of the Saturday Program is about the
privilege of being in a place where you can be free, providing a
haven, an oasis for these students. There’s something about other
people seeing freedom that always makes them judgmental about
where the control lies within the freedom. I continue to find that
there are many opinions about the sop, about what it is, what it
does—but little interest in actually finding out. I think [this is] part
of institutional culture when something is a little bit different.
stephanie I think that the most important principle affirmed by the
cap experience is that an art practice doesn’t begin and end in an
art studio. The ideas go beyond the walls, battling segregationist
and hierarchical systems that limit ideas of cultural authority to a
few. Who at our institutional tables is missing? If you are present,
you are responsible for change.