Stories: Collaboration

The AAC’s Community Education program has allowed me to propose a class this fall that I have wanted to try for a while now. It is open to people of all ages and backgrounds, artistic endeavors and skill levels. I want painters, writers, photographers, illustrators, amateurs and professionals who love to make. The goal of this 8-week workshop is to collaborate to create a digital tapestry of different stories from our community.

Instead of teaching this class I will serve as an advisor explaining the programs we will be using to get our stories online and recommending other resource materials. You will need no experience at all with computers to take part. I will facilitate the actual importing and uploading the images so you can focus on making your art the best it can be. There are only a few restriction requests I have for the stories. First that it is honest! Second, that you try and tell the whole story in 8 pages, and that definition is open to debate since there will be no actual pages. Finally, I ask that the art and story be created during this workshop period and not an old reused story.

The way you visually tell the story is completely up to you. There are no rules that define how you are to tell your story. Can it be just words? Yes. Can I use photographs? Yes. Can it be digital or traditional paint? Yes. Sculpture, screen-printing, origami, scratchboard, readymade assemblage, as long as we can photograph it and get it into a 2D picture plane, yes! Can I collaborate with another artist on my story? Yes. I want us to push the boundaries of what we imagine a story will look like in the new digital age.

When complete our stories will be collected into a larger collaborative narrative. I will upload them to create a digital canvass where they will live and intersect with one another. Once up they can be read and shared by anyone freely.

This is your opportunity to develop that story you have always been talking about; that piece of art you want to make for yourself. I believe that people matter, each of us! Our stories explain to each other why. They help us connect in the most basic human way and teach us to better understand ourselves. If we took a little more time to do this, we would find the world a much better place. Whatever drives you, I want you to come share your stories and help make something amazing together.

The Details:

We will meet downtown on Saturday afternoons this fall at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1pm - 4pm September 21st through November 16th.

The fee for the 8 weeks course, use of computers and faculties is $155

and $25 if you are an enrolled AAC student.