The Art of Justice: Art-Making workshop + community dialogue (2 of 4)

The LA Lee Mizell YMCA Community Center and Niki Lopez of What’s Your Elephant present “The Art of Justice: Art-Making as Catalyst for Social Justice and Collective Action” an art-making series that features social justice-themed presentations, artist-led workshops across literary, visual, and performing arts, and culminating showcases that highlight the work created in the workshops while encouraging critical conversations about access, advocacy, agency, and collective action. This series will run from July 2021 – January 2022.

Workshop: Thursday, August 12; 6:30 – 8:30 PM EST
Artist leading art-making workshop & discussion: Kianga Jinaki Special

guest: Patrice Walker of Emotional Emancipation Broward

Register: https://bit.ly/theartofjustice-workshop2  

Agency: Capacity to affect change

Agency means that individuals know their rights and are empowered to assert them. They have the capacity and ability to voice their concerns and act on them to create change for the better. This lens addresses how the arts assist individuals in learning how to think critically about the world to develop their agency. Equity is ensured when individuals have agency to participate in a socially responsible, democratic and civil society.

About Kianga Jinaki

Kianga Jinaki is a quilter and mixed-media artist. Her quilts, dolls and mixed-media works honoring her cultural heritage, have been exhibited nationally and internationally. As a teaching artist Ms. Jinaki has worked with The Center for Creative Education, Norton Museum of Art,

Spady Museum, and the African American Resource Library &Cultural Center providing artistic/cultural programs for the communities they serve.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Kianga holds a B. S. Degree in Community Mental Health from Morgan State University. Since 2000 she has worked as a Licensed Massage Therapist in South Florida and became a yoga teacher in 2011. Her training in the healing arts informs her works as a visual artist as well as her work in the community. One of her greatest joys is helping others to tap into their creativity.

Special guest Patrice M. Walker 

Lead Facilitator and Coordinator for the Emotional Emancipation Circle SM Broward

Patrice is a strong believer in political warfare through healing within. She has a BA in Criminal Justice and currently orchestrates healing into all Black lives Matter Alliance Broward Meeting, centering humanity for people with a black life experience.

Emotional Emancipation Circles are about defying the lie of Black Inferiority and White superiority, which is the basis of all racism.

Through these circles and events she and a group of passionate healers work together for mental emancipation within the community.

Artist Niki Lopez

Niki Lopez Afro-Latina, Queer, award-winning interdisciplinary Visual Artist, Activist, Social Practioner, Placemaker and Cultural Programer. Lopez is best known for her vibrant color palette, masks and a collection of works dealing with some of her trauma and healing through the arts which inspired her to create What’s Your Elephant ®. Lopez produces “The Circle”, a weekly Facebook/Youtube live – video podcast sharing stories of our creative community, activists & social entrepreneurs. Niki’s advocacy includes mental health, self-care, and learning to swim.

Supplies needed to participate in art-making:

• 9” x 12” canvas board or construction paper, or cloth.
• Scraps of grey, black, orange, green, and pink fabric.
• Scissors
• Colored pencil
• Glue Stick and Elmer’s glue
• Template for collage
• Strip of African fabric to make a frame around your canvas(optional)

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE

To be included in the virtual showcase:

There will be a virtual showcase Saturday, August 28; 1- 3 PM..  We will showcase completed work, have a featured performing artist and other art.  To be included:

• Take a photo of the completed art piece
• Email with with name

Zoom/Facebook live
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Each lens will have:
1 Day: art-making workshop day & community conversation centered on that lens.
1 Day: a showcase of work from the workshop, art from artists, open mic, community dialogue, featured performance artist

This series will culminate in January 2022 with some of the works from each lens, performances.

More info: https://whatsyourelephant.org/theartofjustice

Support for this project has been provided by the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Oakland Park Woman’s Club, David and Francie Horvitz Family Fund, Ann Adams Fund and the Mary and Alex Mackenzie Impact Fund.

About the Community Foundation of Broward:

Founded in 1984, the Community Foundation of Broward helps families, individuals and organizations create personalized charitable Funds that deliver game-changing philanthropic impact.  479 charitable Funds represent more than $200 million in assets, distributing $131 million in grants over the past 36 years.  The Community Foundation provides bold leadership on community solutions and fosters philanthropy that connects people who care with causes that matter. The Foundation empowers visionaries, innovators and doers to create the change they want to see in the community – and to BE BOLD. www.cfbroward.org