I hope this summer is treating
you well. It has been a busy year for Co-op Image as you can
see. I can't help but feel a little bit on the proud side
at being a part of all the great stuff that is going on through
the organization. We are fast approaching our sixth year of
operating and have come a along way from the two-car garage
sized center on Rockwell Street. Co-op has collaborated with
over 1,800 youth in the city of Chicago and many of these
youth have attended programming for 150 plus hours. Most of
the youth that have been involved with programming for over
three years go on to higher education and many go into the
fields of fine and applied arts. The growth is exemplified
by the number of initiatives being foundedand run by the very
youth that attended the programs. This maturation as an organization
has happened steadily over the years with the help of many
invaluable individuals who constantly contribute. Co-op owes
a huge debt of gratitude to our die hard board members and
the persistent development work that Mark Diaz has brought
to the organization.
Check us out, and if you haven’t come around to an event
for awhile, are looking to sponsor any one or all of the projects
that follow or just want stop by and say hello, we could use
your help!
MARK
YOUR CALENDERS Co-op Image's fourth annual fall into art
event is taking place at the always cordial Hot
Glass Event to benefit our youth art center
in Humboldt Park.
Where:: Chicago
Hot Glass 1250 N Central Park
When:: September 15th 6pm-midnight
What:: Live performances by Bossa
Tres, a musical trio that bring an authentic taste of
Brazil to their live musical performances in and around
Chicago.
There will also be the
amazing hot glass artists performing live glass blowing
demonstrations. Live screen printing by Co-op Image's So
Fresh Printers. Don't forget one of the most amazing
spreads of food at any event in the whole city thanks to
Co-op's long time friend Susan Allen.
$25 gets you in and benefits the Corner
Art Center that works with over 400 youth ages 8-20
each year. This is a don't miss event, so spread the word.
TESTING
TESTING Mobile
Media Lab has completed its' first cycle of program.
It has passed with flying colors and some sharp words. Cortez
Davidaz founded the project in collaboration with Sef Wofford
who have established themselves as the most requested art center
staffers. The project sought to record oral histories that addressed
topics like respect, violence, and gangs. Give the project a
listen by clicking here.
The project was funded in part by a Fire
This Time grant and the Illinois
Humane Society
DELICIOSO Chi-Town
Chefs celebrates its third
year going strong. Summer
programming is running 5 days a week for four hours a day with
18 dedicated apprentice chefs that receive
stipends from After
School Matters for their participation.
The project has also received a grant through
the Polk
Brothers Foundation that has kept the project running year
round. With over 100 hours of footage in the can, the new shows
will air on CAN-TV in three
weeks. Recipes have ranged from jibaritos to crab rangoon. If
you are around this summer stop on by; program runs from 9am
to 12:30pm and we might be able to get you a taste (call ahead
we may be in the garden or on a fieldtrip). If you haven't already
seen us on cable click
here for the pilot or look us up on youtube.
GET
EM' WHILE THEY ARE HOT Off the presses that is. The youth
run So
Fresh Printing initiative charges into it's third
year out of the Corner art Center headed up by Gabby, Ysheba,
Nick, Brandon, and overseen by Mr. Mark Diaz.
Next time you head over to Crust,
the only certified organic resturaunt in Chicago, check out
their staff t-shirts and pick one up - they were made by the
So Fresh crew. The shirts were themselves made from organic
cotton and produced sweat free by a woman owned business.
So order your fair trade shirts, totebags, or any other imprintable
TODAY.
CAPED
BUT NOT CRUSADING Just doing the
good work they've been doing since 1993. In
the past year
Chicago Arts Partnership In Education (CAPE) has facilitated
some amazing arts integration collaborations with Co-op Image
in four CPS grade schools with over 200 youth. This Decoding
Heritage video is a result of one of these partnerships
with CAPE, B.C.A., I.P.R.A.C.
, Stowe
Elementary, and Co-op Image.
Also join us for the debut of the animation that will take
place at El
Barrio Arts Festival in Humboldt Park inside a forty foot
inflatable hoagie (that's right a hoagie):
BIG
WALL KEEPS ON ROLLING
Stef
heads up a collaboration with Arts
of Life and Co-op to continue the Great Wall of
Chicago mural. The mural starts at Bloomingdale and
Milwaukee and hopes to meet somewhere in the middle with a
youth initiated push further west starting on Whipple. Spanning
24 city blocks, this would make it the longest continuous
mural in the whole city of Chicago. We are out on weekends
and soon, weekday mornings. The next phase will be a collaboration
on a kite themed portion of the wall with Arts of Life resident
artists and Co-op Image youth artists. So come out and get
dirty with us.
IT'S
A BERRY WONDERFUL
time to join us in the gardens. The black rasberries
are at their ripest and we could use a hand picking them and
the surrounding weeds. Find us at the next garden work day,
the Humboldt Park garden walk, or just stop on by the Campbell
/Our Block Gardens.
WE
HEART DETROIT
Co-op represented Chicago at the Allied
Media Conference in Detroit. Seven Co-op Image
Youth and three instructors helped conduct workshops and participated
in the live performances. This year's theme was building movements,
and if the numbers that attended the AMC are any gauge, it is
a movement in itself. We visited the world famous Heidelberg
Project and met with Tyree Guyton, the artist that founded.
the project. The Co-op Image crew also stopped by Hitsville
for a photo op and had pizza party reunion in Toledo with our
old friend Phil Davis. The
journey was funded in part by a Field
foundation development grant. The AMC folks also assisted
in fundraising for us to get out to Detroit . We thank them
in hopes of seeing them all next year.
GLASS
SHELVED but not forgotten. After
an amazing event at Chiopolis hall with musical performances
by Mucca Pazza, The
Mobile Media
Lab instructors (Cortez, Sef),and of course our multi talented
board member extraordinaire dj naomi, the recycled
(shelf glass) screenprinted fused glassworks
are still available for sale and ready to be shown at another
venue. So if you have ideas or are interested in investing in
one of these breathtaking pieces please contact
us.
IN SERVICE WE TRUST
This summer Co-op Image ran an in service workshop
teaching teachers, what else, but inflatable construction and
new media installation with Building Curriculum, Community and
Leadership Through the Arts (BCCLA). This is a three-year project
developed by The Fine and Performing Arts Magnet Cluster Initiative
at CPS in partnership with CAPE.
All 59 Fine and Performing Arts Magnet Cluster elementary schools
are involved in this project, whose goals are to achieve significant
school-wide growth in the areas of curriculum, community and
teacher leadership.
want to donate
to support all of this good stuff then click
here and follow the paypal prompts
