Neighborhood Strings performing at the State House last year.
Worcester Chamber Music Society is funded in part by Mass Cultural Council’s SerHacer Program.
Showcase
Neighborhood Strings performing at the State House last year.
Worcester Chamber Music Society is funded in part by Mass Cultural Council’s SerHacer Program.
Dawry Ruiz is a 17-year-old artist from East Boston and alum of Zumix. In his presentation at TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet, he reminds us how development and placemaking patterns for the “Creative Class” continue to scour communities of their history, social patterns, and identity.
Earlier this year, Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) hosted their 28th Summer Media Institute. During the program, 34 teens from Cambridge took part in a six-week work experience and media production program collaborating on group projects focused on amplifying or giving a “voice to the voiceless.”
Students are paid to work as producers over the summer through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program in Cambridge, MA, and learn the skills necessary to produce high quality media reflecting the issues and stories most important to them. They participate in workshops throughout the summer to develop skills around cinematography, visual storytelling, audio, editing, and more.
Their final projects premiered at a public screening to a theater filled with family, friends, and community members, covering a wide range of issues including substance abuse, race, different family dynamics, and mental health.
Here is some of their work:
BOTTLE CAPS
Produced by Jermai Bethea, Kevin Fleurimond, and Bedilu Green
A love story, complicated by substance misuse, unfolds in this music video which tells the story of a relationship broken apart. Jermai, Kevin and Bedilu create a surreal world of flashbacks and dreamscapes to represent a young couple’s struggle to overcome the challenges brought on by addiction. Set to the song Bottle Caps by Jay Squared.
BLACK WOMEN
Produced by Allison Desir, Johnnie Williams, and Mattingly Wood
Tropes within the representation and image of black women in society are broken down by four women telling stories of how they experience stereotypes. Through the combination of personal interviews and examples from popular culture, Allison, Johnnie and Mattingly explore the effect of stereotypes of self-image, as well as how one can react or resist judgement, discrimination and misrepresentation.
LA CENA
Produced by Matthew Hernandez, Jaqui Hill, and Vera Targoff
Shot as a combination of cinéma verité and home video, this portrait of different families takes a look at the differences between how families interact through the universal experience of eating dinner. Matt, Jaqui, and Vera create different scenes to tell the stories of family dynamics as they play out in their friends’ homes as well as their own.
IT’S NOT THAT EASY
Produced by Michelle Goldsmith, Jayde Haidar and Rachel Jacobs
Two teens talk about their experiences with mental health, and how they are impacted by the stigma surrounding anxiety and depression. Using animations to illustrate the emotions and experiences being described, Michelle, Jayde, and Rachel try to bring a better understanding to an issue that many teens experience, but not all teens understand.
Andrine Pierresaint performs her spoken word piece, “Knives” at the Amplify grants reception at the Mass State House earlier this year.
Andrine is a Youth Leader at Books of Hope, which is funded in part by Mass Cultural Council’s YouthReach Program, and a 2018 Amplify Grant Recipient.
Andrine’s Artist Statement: Writing about my personal experience with sexual assault has been very difficult. But I saw a documentary on UN peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince, and my family has had many experiences with sexual assault. Haiti has a long history of constantly being taken advantage of, by withholding this information, I feel I would’ve been contributing to it.
Youth activist and writer Ruby Russell of Books of Hope performs her poem “Shells” at the National Arts in Education Week celebration at MassArt on September 14, 2018. The event was co-hosted by Americans for the Arts and the Arts for All Coalition.
Dubem Okafor, Institute of Contemporary Art Teens Leader, performs at the Creative Youth Development Showcase hosted last year by Mass Cultural Council and EdVestors.
Hyde Square Task Force performs at the Creative Youth Development Showcase hosted last year by Mass Cultural Council and EdVestors.
Angkor Dance Troupe performs at the Creative Youth Development Showcase hosted last year by Mass Cultural Council and EdVestors.
Laury Teneus, Boston winner of Huntington Theatre Company‘s 2017 August Wilson Monologue Competition, performing at the Creative Youth Development Showcase hosted by Mass Cultural Council and EdVestors last July.
META Fellow Ryan Solero performs Billie Jean with students from Lawrence Public Schools’ 10th Grade Academy. Our Music Educators and Teaching Artist (META) Fellowship Pilot Program is a two-year program focused on enhancing the quality of music teaching and learning in school and community based organizations throughout Massachusetts.