Dreams of Hope Presents multiMEdia A sQool workshop and event series
sQool at Dreams of Hope presents multiMEdia, a four-part workshop series surrounding intersectionality and art, led by program manger Cavanaugh Quick and featuring local artist Katie Kaplan (pennysmasher.tumblr.com). The workshop is hosted at Winchester Thurston Upper School in conjunction with their student Gay-Straight Alliance and will culminate in a free and public youth reception on Friday, April 10, at the Winchester Thurston Upper School, 555 Morewood Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood. Over the course of four sessions, students will work with Dreams of Hope teaching artists to engage in critical analysis of art across a range of mediums, including music, prose, and visual pieces. This workshop will focus on the intersection of queerness with other social identities, in an examination of multidimensional systems of privilege and oppression. Students will work together to create a mixed-media paneled mural in response to their analyses, to be unveiled at the youth reception. For more information about the youth reception, please email cav@dreamsofhope.org.
Pittsburgh, PA – sQool at Dreams of Hope presents multiMEdia, a four-part workshop series surrounding intersectionality and art, led by program manger Cavanaugh Quick and featuring local artist Katie Kaplan (pennysmasher.tumblr.com).. The workshop is hosted at Winchester Thurston Upper School in conjunction with their student Gay-Straight Alliance and will culminate in a free and public youth reception April 10 at Winchester Thurston Upper School, 555 Morewood Avenue in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood.
Intersectionality is a term used in critical social analysis, coined by race theorist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989. It refers to the examination of social privileges and oppressions as multi-dimensional and inextricably linked according to the varying interactions between social identities. This workshop series will explore: the use of art to engage with and dissect intersectional theory as related to queer identity; critical analysis of artistic works through the lens of this theory; and the creation of art in response to examination of personal identities and their relationships to one another. Each work presented for analysis was created by a queer-identifying artist or for a queer audience, whose creators or subjects hold differing race, class, ability, etc. statuses from one another.
Using skills and techniques taught by local artist Katie Kaplan, students will work together to create a mixed media paneled mural in response to discussions held in the workshop sessions. The mural will be available for public viewing at the April 10 reception, and attendees will be welcomed to add their own contributions throughout the event. This reception will also provide space for showcasing other student works and youth networking opportunities among schools and student organizations.
"It's largely introspective," says Cavanaugh Quick. "It involves asking yourself what advantages and disadvantages you have and then figuring out how those help or hurt other people. These youth are already doing that – we just want to help them maximize their work."
sQool is in its inaugural season at Dreams of Hope. The program focuses on knowledge and resource dissemination about queer identity, visibility, and access to resources through workshops and collaborative community events. "These are conversations we are committed to having with and among our students," said Matt Bachner, Upper School Dean of Students at Winchester Thurston. "This workshop series is a natural fit for our City as Our Campussm initiative and we look forward to watching our students in action."
sQool is supported by The Fine Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The MUKTI Fund, The John J. McDonnell and Margaret T. O'Brien Foundation, the Allegheny Regional Asset District, and the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Program of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
For more information, visit www.dreamsofhope.org.
More About Dreams of Hope
Dreams of Hope is Pittsburgh's only arts-focused organization for queer and allied youth. Recognizing the need for creative outlets for youth in Pittsburgh and the need for positive LGBTQ role models and messages in society, Artistic Director Susan Haugh founded Dreams of Hope in 2003. Dreams of Hope operates four programs: a youth performance ensemble (theatriQ), a summer arts camp (Qamp), an in-school/afterschool arts program (sQool), and a neighborhood open stage and arts showcase program (speaQ).
More About Winchester Thurston School
Established in 1887, Winchester Thurston is a private, nationally recognized independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Pittsburgh, PA. The school actively engages each student in a challenging and inspiring learning process that develops the mind, motivates the passion to achieve, and cultivates the character to serve. Students and faculty value critical thinking, integrity, empathy, community, and diversity.For more information, visit www.winchesterthurston.org.
