Reflection

Since art was always one of my favorite subjects as a kid, I was attracted to the idea of showing how the kids at Our Next Generation get creative. I think that having a creative outlet is a great way to express feelings and ideas, especially for young people. I think it’s great that the kids can come and show off their artistic talents in a supportive and safe environment. I also thought it was very interesting how the group leaders assign projects based on literature, and they use music to teach mathematics. I also think it’s wonderful that students are encouraged to create their own works as well as work collaboratively with other students to make collective pieces. That is why I decided to take pictures of the artwork and creative pieces that I saw displayed at Our Next Generation. One of the pieces, which there is a picture of in the slideshow, is the tree with paper leaves with things that people are thankful for written on them, that I found to be especially beautiful, even if it is only made of construction paper and markers. It does break my heart a little bit that these kids don’t get all the supplies they might want because of lack of money, but I think it’s great that they can still be so creative with what they have. I was very interested to find out that Our Next Generation wanted to own the building they work out of, and that it is still owned by the church. I didn’t know that the church didn’t hold services anymore, and I had figured they made some kind of agreement. When I saw the cross up I in the front I was admittedly a little put back, I must say, so I completely understand why Our Next Generation wants to remodel. I am sure they would also want to change the sign out front to make Our Next Generation more noticeably from the street, because its exterior also still looks like a church. I was very interested to hear that the senior class at MSOE has plans to help Our Next Generation change the building. It is always special when creative minds come together and work to achieve common goals.

Creativity at Our Next Generation

I decided for this project to research the creativity and artwork I saw at Our Next Generation. I am always interested in the ways creativity shows itself in different communities and age groups. I interviewed a woman who works at Our Next Generation, I’ll call her “Clara”. She said that much of the artwork the younger children create is literature-based. She said they will read a book or play, and then create pieces, or sometimes a collaborative piece on what they read, like with the “Harlem…A Wonderful Place!” poster. She said that the 1st through 3rd graders create weekly works of art and that the 4th and 6th grade students do drumming to learn math. She also said that the children worked together to create masks and sculptures for the local Washington Park Street Parade, and there is a picture of one of the masks in my slide show. Clara also told me about how there are often limited supplies which is why most of the artwork is made with paper, crayons, markers, and whatever is available.
Clara also told me about how Our Next Generation does not own the church they operate in, but they are hoping to buy it in January. The church still owns the building even though there are no services held there and they don’t use it for anything. Our Next Generation would like to buy the building so that they can re-model it (there is still a cross at the front of the chapel) and they don’t want to be mistaken for a religious organization. Clara told me that one volunteer came, took a picture of the cross, and simply left. She said it would be nice to have the place look the way they wanted so they would be able to give off the impression that they were aiming for and not be thought of as a religious group. Luckily, Clara told me about how the senior class at MSOE is going to change the building when Our Next Generation buys it as a capital campaign project. She seemed pretty optimistic about this endeavor and about the organization’s ownership of the building.