Please post a comment with your thoughts on being involved in this project, whether you were a participant or facilitator!
Liz chats with participants.
Leigh makes her pitch...
a participant, and his drawing for his employer ( below)
two participants draw while a friend looks on, encouraged by Scott, and their drawings, below, both sent to the white house:
a participant draws about her feelings on education:
and five more!
1 comment:
As a novice facilitator, I had my reservations about going up to strangers and asking "Would you like to show someone how you feel about something today?"After getting some instructions and a mini pep talk from Zoe, I felt just brave enough to do just that. The first person I asked was super eager to talk with me and asked right away, "Is this political?" I said, "It could be or you could make a drawing for your mom or roommate..." (I guess that could be political too, ya know, family politics). I left the participant to do his thing while Zoe quickly went over to him to ask if she could shoot him (that's photographer speak for take a picture of him). After the success of my first interaction I was feeling braver and went over to a group of guys in uniform polo shirts. The guy in the middle looked cynical enough for the challenge I wanted. As I walked closer to him and his co-workers, I noticed, to his left, a dashing, younger man who had warmly, welcoming eyes (more on that later). I pursued the middle man (to the guy on the right: I am sorry. I completely ignored you), as planned. He was interested and even requested crayons. Luckily, Leigh had brought magic markers and that satisfied him just fine. I left him to do his thing while I turned on my flirt with the guy on the left (I couldn't help myself). After a few minutes, middle guy finished his drawing and debated for a couple minutes whether he should send it to Ed Rendell or Michael Nutter. He decided that Nutter could do more - it was so satisfying to listen to this guy consider how his drawing was going to impact one of the most powerful people in Philadelphia!
Next, I convinced the cute left guy to draw. He turned out to be an artist himself, with a background in sculpture and experience with mural painting. I wonder how the "show someone" experience is different for a seasoned artist who may feel pressure to make a drawing that stands out from the rest. Or maybe he was just distracted by my sun-kissed cheeks and endless wit.
In the end, I really enjoyed talking to strangers in Rittenhouse Square for a bit and I loved encouraging them to draw. I tried to express that the experience was totally for them.
I urge folks to volunteer as facilitators next week for the last round of "show someone." Who knows? You may challenge yourself, push your boundaries, try something new, and if your lucky, exchange phone numbers with one of your cute participants. Activist art to the rescue! xoxo, Liz
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