City-As-School
City Life Internship Program
Winter 2023 – Spring 2024
Drawing by Claire
A message to students from their Teaching Artist:
Since you attend City-As-School, we thought it’d be apt to work towards a final project that centered on city-building and imaging new worlds. Together we learned about the elements of art through viewing, discussing and making our own work. We witnessed how artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Faith Ringgold envisioned landscapes and cityscapes. Also along the way, we explored the vast online collections of both the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of Modern Art. Amongst the extensive catalogs you were able to find an artwork that captivated your attention.
Through the process of creating collages based on these selected artworks, you made beautiful and inspired work. That was fun! That was hard. Making art is hard; imagining is hard. And we did both of those in our time together. Whether I got to work with you one cycle or two, I want to say thank you. Thank you for bringing your full selves into the work we did. Thank you for asking questions. Thank you for doing new things. Thank you for showing up.
Mayele Alognon, Teaching Artist
Drawing by Arlo
DREAM CITY PROJECT
COMMUNITY POEMS
Our City
My dream city looks like a cubist mirror
The streets look like they’ve been used
For a long time
My dream city sounds busy
Lots of people, music, minimal cars
The night sky looks like a pink fading into a purple
The blue
My dream city tastes like amazing food
Huge portions
A lot of options
Drawing by Natalie
My Dream City
My dream city sounds like laughter
The buildings look like Miami;
Tall glass and translucent
Architectural townhouses and skyscrapers
The texture of my dream city is soft
A bright place, where it is sunny with flowers
The scent of my dream city is vanilla and champagne toast
It tastes like candy.
Like chocolate covered strawberries
Like blue raspberry slushie.
My dream city sounds like birds chirping
The night sky looks dark but the sky is filled with stars
In my dream city, I feel happy, secure, safe, loved.
Drawing by Eva
Art by Nia
COLLAGES
Gadiel L., inspired by Couple Dancing (1956) by Roy DeCarava
By Nia A., Inspired by They were very poor (1941) by Jacob Lawrence
Yanixa David, inspired by Bodybuilder #4 (1998) by Deborah Willis
