More about the Graffiti Art Workshop

We were so thrilled to get on the front page of the Alameda Sun last week but that picture caused concern amongst some Alamedans. Here is what Eustinove Smith had to say about his Graffiti Art workshop at the Hip Hop Forum.

From: Eustinove P. Smith, HOME Project Adult Coach, Alternatives in Action

Re: Respond to Alameda Sun Graffiti Art Workshop “Feed Back”

Dear Editor,

Let me start off by saying that it is always good to get feed back on the work we are doing with our youth. I also would like acknowledge the Alameda Sun for what I consider great publicity for Alternatives In Action (AIA). It seems to me that both responses to the article in the Alameda Sun are from understandably concerned citizens looking for assurance that we at AIA are holding our youth to being constructive and positive people. On the same token, it seems that they are also greatly misinformed on the purpose of HOME Project’s Hip Hop Forum, in particular the Graffiti Art Workshop. This workshop was designed to educate our youth attending the Hip-Hop Forum on how to be constructive artists and to educate them on the cultural and artistic expression of Hip Hop culture. In my two after-school program project groups, both called Expressions, I teach youth leadership skills using visual art, particularly mural art, airbrush art, and graffiti art. I send my youth through an extensive process of conceiving, developing, and producing socially conscious murals that address community needs and issues. My 25 years experience as a muralist experimenting with the cross section of how graffiti art, traditional mural art, and architecture meet reflects the focus of my project groups from a curriculum and project standpoint. Expressions is currently working on three murals and developing an airbrush shop at Encinal High School. Teaching the Graffiti Art Workshop was an effort by HOME Project, specifically, the Sound Recording Studio’s Hip Hop Forum, to expand the knowledge and skills that we address and teach in Expressions to the middle school students at Chipman Middle school students. I currently teach an airbrush class at Chipman as well. Over 90% of the students that attended the Graffiti Art Workshop are in my airbrush class at Chipman. Given this, the Graffiti Art Workshop at the Hip Hop Forum was full of very informed and educated students that understood the context of how we were dealing with Graffiti Art as an artistic expression, not a form of vandalism often confused by the general public when the term “graffiti art” is thrown around. As a parent and teacher, the last thing I would encourage youth to do is destroy and vandalize property whether public or private. Teaching mural art in these classes allows me an opportunity to demonstrate to my youth how committed I am to being a responsible and constructive artist and how we as a class can collectively create public art that positively serves their community and reflects constructive artistic expression. At least 25% of my students are graffiti artists who, before taking my class (and workshop), did not understand the artistic and culturally significant history of graffiti art. My classes (as well as the Graffiti Art Workshop at HOME Project’s Hip Hop Forum) support the positive aspects of Hip Hop and graffiti art. Many of our youth are infatuated with Hip Hop….we at Alternatives in Action provide them with a platform to make their experience with Hip Hop positive and an opportunity to become leaders in the process. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions feel free to contact me at esmith@alternativesinaction.org.

Thanks,

Eustinove P. Smith

Adult Coach, HOME Project

Sharing the good news

Alternatives in Action is represented on the front page of the Alameda Sun in two different ways today. First, a photo of Eustinove teaching kids at the Hip Hop Forum is dead center on the front page and then, our preschooler Fiona, is shown off to the left planting in our garden. That story then jumps to page 4.

For now it's just in the print version of the Alameda Sun. A link will be posted here soon for the online version when it becomes available.

Home Sweet Home Preschool Open House

Prospective preschool parents!
Please join us for our Spring 2009 preschool open house. This is your opportunity to see our space, meet our staff and ask questions about enrolling your child at Home Sweet Home.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

6 PM - 7:30 PM

Home Sweet Home Preschool, Room 1
at the Woodstock Education Center
1900 Third Street
Alameda, CA 94501

See you then!

Hip Hop Forum 2009

Eustinove Smith, HOME Project coach, demonstrates how to outline with spray paint in the Graffiti Art workshop at the 2009 Hip Hop Forum at BASE High School in Alameda's West End.

Tweet!

The revolution will be twittered. Alternatives in Action can also now be found on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/youthpower

Follow us to get the latest on our programs and events.

Garden, Part II

BASE High School students, Marta and Oscar, dig a deep ditch for planting asparagus.

It's that time of year...

Early this morning, the preschoolers from the Woodstock Education Center campus in Alameda got together and planted small eggplant and zucchini sprouts in our Community Garden. They carefully spooned holes in the dirt for the sprouted plants and got their hands dirty placing them in. Live worms found in the dirt delighted the children but the real excitement will come when they see their plants grow this Spring.

Home Sweet Home preschooler, Scarlett (4), gets a lesson in planting from Mr. B.

Success!

Over two dozen preschool parents and supporters joined us all day Saturday morning to complete a variety of projects in our classroom, playground and garden. It was a huge success (and a whole lot of fun!).

In just three short hours, we worked through our our rather long to-do list. Here are just some of the projects we finished:

--We planted strawberries...lots of them!
--We prepared other garden beds for not-so-distant future plantings.
--We poured concrete into galvanized tubs so we can use them for sturdy giant umbrella stands. Our playground needs shade and we think this might be just the thing.
--We started in on Phase One of Project Earthquake Proof in the classroom.

We then all enjoyed lunch together in the Big Room.

Thanks to everyone who came out and helped us make our preschool and garden even better than it already is!

Food and Wine event

We are pleased to announce that our garden will benefit from the wonderful event below.

Slow Food Alameda's
2nd Annual Membership Drive and Fabulous Food & Wine Pairing
Friday, March 13th, 2009 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

At Alameda 's Rosenblum Cellars

Venture out to Rosenblum Cellars for unique pairings of Rosenblum Wines and “good, clean, and fair” foods from local restaurants and producers - Served to you by some of your favorite chefs.

Restaurants, Producers, Sponsors

Acquacotta

Alameda Natural Grocery

Asena
Baron’s Meats & Seafood

The Beanery

C’era Una Volta

Chipotle Mexican Grill
Croll’s Pizza

Culina
Daisy’s

Dan’s Fresh Produce
Dragon Rouge

Feel Good Bakery
The Hob Nob

Mezze

Mona’s Table

Pappo
Patricia’s Pantry

Live Music performed by Paul Manousos!

Proceeds from ticket sales and raffle to benefit Slow Food Alameda, Alternatives in Action School Garden, and Alameda Food Bank.

Tickets available on the web http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/57865

For more information call 510-684-5411.

$25 in advance, $30 at the door. Limited to 200 tickets.

This is a 21+ event.

Project YouthView 2009

Call for entries!

Project YouthView is a premier Bay Area film festival that celebrates the power of youth with showing films by and about youth.

Highlights include:
--5-8 youth film shorts from local students
--Filmmaker Prizes
--A special screening of the Oscar-nominated feature documentary, TROUBLE THE WATER *

CALL FOR ENTRIES:
--Recent youth made film shorts (shorter than 5 mins) will be accepted for review. Youth must be 21 years or younger. Please contact Dawn Humphrey at dhumphrey@alternativesinaction.org or call 510-748-4314 x 315 for more information and an entry form. Deadline: April 10, 2009.

Project YouthView 2009 is presented by
Alternatives in Action, East Bay ROP and Comcast in partnership with Radical Media Group.

All event proceeds benefit the youth programs at Alternatives in Action.

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About Trouble the Water:

http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/

"Trouble the Water" tells a story of one extraordinary family's survival of the flooding of New Orleans after Katrina, and their journey into a new life. Time Magazine's Richard Corliss called it "[A]n endlessly moving, artlessly magnificent tribute to people the government didn't think worth saving."

Directed and produced by Fahrenheit 9/11 producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal and executive produced by Danny Glover, "Trouble the Water" won the 2008 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and was named one of the top ten films of 2008 by critics at Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times and The New Yorker.

A haiku about Alternatives in Action

We plant leadership
Community benefit
And youth will succeed

Community Build Day

Obama called public service a responsibility of citizenship and said Americans should “think about what you can do to shape the country that we love.”

How will you shape the country you love through service?

Home Sweet Home, the preschool operating under Alternatives in Action, is looking for your help on Saturday March 14. Join us for our Community Build Day. Come take part in this really fun community event and help us make our preschool even more special through gardening and other projects.

Have community service hours to fulfill? We have many projects on this day and others to fulfill your required hours.

Free breakfast served.
Please RSVP to krivers@alternativesinaction.org
All ages.

When?
Saturday March 14, 2009
9 AM - 12 PM

Where?
Alternatives in Action
1900 Third Street
Alameda, CA 94501

Who?
You.

Spring Break

Spring Break is coming for Home Sweet Home preschool and BASE High School.

There are no classes from April 6-10, 2009.

We hope you all enjoy your time off.