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.