Spring 2023 Newsletter
FirstWorks Education in Action: Mt.Pleasant High student engages with school alum and hip-hop artist Flawless at matinee performance.
Boston street-dance pioneers Billy and Bobby McClain, known as The Wondertwins, spun magic for students in our education program this spring. Through hip-hop dance workshops at Bailey Elementary School in Providence and a workshop and matinee performance at Claiborne Pell Elementary School in Newport, these consummate dance professionals shared personal life lessons, taught dance routines, and answered students’ questions about their careers and philosophy.
Centering Youth Perspectives
This school year marks the launch of our inaugural YOUTH BOARD: seven student representatives from schools across the state met with the FirstWorks team to offer insight and guidance into keeping our education programming attuned to the experiences of the students we serve. In turn, Youth Board members dive deeply into our education initiatives and other aspects of arts administration through hands-on learning. The vital work of these students is helping improve how we think about arts-integrated education, in and out of the classroom.
EarthWorks: In-Depth Arts Education at Work
During the 2022-23 school year, FirstWorks embedded local Artist Educators in four area schools through our EARTHWORKS program. Each climate-themed residency, with students Grades 5-12, emphasized artist mentorship and student creation, exploring environmental themes to develop individual and group artworks.
Meet our EarthWorks Artist Educators:
Savonnara Alex Sok worked with Central Falls High School students on a climate-themed mural.
Eli Nixon worked with 5th graders from Providence’s D’Abate Elementary School to create fabric flags that represent organisms from the land, air and sea.
Steven Choummalaithong worked with Providence’s Gilbert Stuart Middle School on collaborative blackout poetry about the students’ relationships with nature.
Jeffrey Yoo Warren & Aisha Jandosova worked with Pawtucket’s Shea High School students on environment and identity-themed 2D+3D paper-based projects.
COMING UP NEXT!
JUNE + JULY Summer Beats is Back!
Experience powerful Afro-Indigenous music from Belize with The Garifuna Collective on June 25th and party with the bhangra funk sensation Red Baraat on July 23rd. These free concerts, at the historic Roger Williams Park Bandstand, will be preceded by immersive arts workshops for all ages.
From top: Steven “Sen” Chommalaithong, Eli Nixon, Savonnara Alex Sok, Jeffrey Yoo Warren and Aisha Jandosova. Photos courtesy of the artists.
Pawtucket’s Shea High School students display paper lanterns they created with FirstWorks Artist Educators Jeffrey Yoo Warren and Aisha Jandosova.