7325: mural project documentary (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

>Hands On Miami is coordinating a community-based art project designed to
>bring diverse communities together by creating a mural.  The Haitian
>American Foundation and the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Center  
>both serve an elderly immigrant population.  We will involve their members 
>in a "Cumbite"/"Kombit", preparatory sessions during which members of 
>theparticipating agencies will get to know each other through a discussion 
>of the visual images important to their culture and background.  The 
>participants will also discuss ideas they want reflected in the mural.  
>They will be asked a series of questions (somewhat like an oral 
>history),designed to learn more about each individual, focusing on 
>similarities in the two cultures.  They will be encouraged to bring a small 
>personal object exemplifies that person's expression of his/her culture.  
>The artist/facilitator/ Xavier Cortada, will then incorporate those points 
>and objects into a sketch of the proposed mural. 	The creation of a 
>documentary would enhance this project in many
>ways.  The visual elements in this project are people representing two
>cultures and panels created by these people.  The video will record the
>meetings, the oral history interviews and the artwork.  It is believed that 
>the video will enhance the project because it will record the oral 
>histories of people whose life experiences span two cultures.  The 
>documentary will  plore and record the impact of migration on their lives.  
>The video recording of the oral histories will preserve the unique 
>experiences of the current generation of Haitian and Hispanic immigrants 
>and their recent experiences in our community.  This documentary will go 
>beyond the recording of the creation of two murals.  It will also document 
>the people whose histories and life experiences formed the basis of the 
>murals.  The documentary hopefully will provide a lasting record of both.

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com