Research, Design…

Prime, Scale…

Blue Line…

Blue Wash…

Opposite Colors…

A little music production…

The Unveiling Prep Team…

is using professional techniques…

…to get things done!

Oh yes, and they dance…

Until next time…

PEACE!!

As the school year approaches SF teens get closer and closer to completion of their murals. Yes, you read correct, murals, plural. The SF teens will have two murals complete by the end of this summer, one to be placed inside the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street and the other inside San Francisco’s OMI Community Center. Along with painting they have also been doing a little dancing. Dances being choreographed by, our own in house dance instructor Eleanor Tannis, will be performed at the Mural Unveiling on September 17th. Here are a few pictures to show their progress:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7zTKXq5o3Q&hl=en&fs=1]

With a mission to educate inspire and empower, MMAP’s Teen Mural Program is doing just that. Teens in East Palo Alto are not only painting a mural for their community, they are using their findings and momentum from peace research to paint their vision of peace, write and record music, choreograph dance routines and plan and execute the mural unveiling. They have divided up into three distinct cohorts based on their interests, talents and how they would like to express themselves at this years unveiling, thematically set for Friday, September 11th at MMAP’s office on 2043 Euclid Avenue in East Palo Alto. These three cohorts are represented and directed by artists who specialize in these particular art forms and are skilled in working with youth to develop their skills at a beginner level. The four groups being History through Hip Hop (HHH) which includes dance, the Teen Mural Assistants (TMA) who lead the painting of the mural and the Unveiling Prep Team (UPT) which Uses Professional Techniques to coordinate these three cohorts to be well represented at the unveiling on the 11th.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e375FrfvrEc&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

In the above video we take a glimpse into the dance rehearsal of the HHH cohort. They were blessed with two full days of instruction by the lovely Lauren Camarillo, daughter of Al Camarillo and baby sister to our Director Mr. C. Lauren made a special trip up from Los Angeles, taking time off from her undergraduate studies at UCLA, to spend time with this years group of teens. Ms. Camarillo is a beyond qualified dance instructor, as the director of UCLA’s Samahong Modern Dance, a multi-cultural Hip-Hop dance group which performs all over Southern California Colleges and UC’s. Lauren, who comes from a family established in youth instruction and education is seeking her BA in Psychology and Linguistics and hopes to pursue a Masters in Education after finishing at UCLA. MMAP and the East Palo Alto Teen Mural Program would like to give a special thanks to Lauren Camarillo for educating, inspiring and empowering our teens! Thank You, Lauren!! PEACE!!!

In week 5 of the SF Teen Mural Program, teens are showing strong signs of progress as they begin the next phase of the mural making process. After 4 weeks of research and a stellar design workshop its time to get out to the Starr King playground and get active with the paintbrush.

Before getting out to the sunny blacktop the teens were reminded of MMAP’s 10 Steps of Mural Making. Coach Tunde used the infamous call and response song, created by resident Artist James Chitty in last years East Palo Alto Teen Mural Program, to build association with a rhythm that last years teens remember to this day. This song proved a great way to start phase two as it was all smiles for the rest of the day.

This SF group of teens, who at the beginning of the summer had no idea what they were getting themselves into, has now become fully invested in this summers mural project and project theme. This years theme has not only been studied, researched and thoroughly examined, PEACE has also been achieved amongst this group of diverse youth who come from some of Frisco’s roughest neighborhoods and were perfect strangers 5 weeks ago. Signs of hope arise for Frisco teens who are constantly reminded that they can affect peaceful change in the world by promoting Peace, Unity & Progress in their daily lives.

Coach Tunde discusses suggestions for Imagery with TMA's

Week 5 would give EPA teens the momentum they needed for their design workshop. With their minds at ease, their breathing down and the body nice and relaxed they were ready to share their vision for peace! Combining their primary and secondary source research from International, National, Regional and Inner Peace segments the ideas were abundant and the imagery was crystal clear. MMAP teens in the small town of EPA, which was once murder capital of the world (per capita), are envisioning PEACE!!

Daniel Nava of MMAP's Graffiti Art Program (GAP) Says "His Art = PEACE"

After a few minor hurdles, SF’s Teen Mural Program would carry on strong into their last week of research and for most of them, their first ever design workshop.  TMP staff was a little  concerned as to how well the teens would do with turning their ideas into imagery so we decided to bring a few veterans up from EPA.  Although the EPA teens did exceptionally well, it was truly amazing to see SF teens with so much insight in their first ever design workshop. With the theme of peace, it was quite inspiring to see the teens so engaged and so passionate about their ideas, Peep!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv9hY8pkz9U&hl=en&fs=1&]