In my last post, I summarized a few of the sessions we had and the activities we did during them. However, I did skip Wednesday for a reason. On Wednesday, we did not sit and do sessions all day.... we did something way better. We went on a field trip! I haven't gone on a field trip since maybe sixth grade, and this field trip was awesome. The point? To get to know the city we are serving.
We started off at the Hemming Park, which is a park right in the middle of downtown. It's where Artwalk is held every month, it has a little fountain, sometimes there's a coffee truck, all the trees have been yarn-bombed, there's interactive art everywhere... it's a nice place to just sit and hang out. So Wednesday morning we all met there to do our morning circle with our Crazy Teams. I was a little late because of a hectic roommate ride situation, but everything turned out okay. Thank goodness I had some friends who were willing to pick us up because we may not have made it at all.
After everyone got into their groups and ready to go, we climbed aboard three school buses and headed to our first stop: The Cummer Museum. The Cummer Museum is awesome, that's pretty much the only word I can use to describe it. They have modern art, extremely old collections, a hands-on area that might be designed more for children but I loved it, and they also borrow at least one new exhibit every couple months. This month's exhibit was one by an artist named Whitfield Lovell, called "Deep River."
"Inspired specifically by the legacy of African Americans who fled from slavery, crossing the Tennessee River to freedom during the Civil War, Deep River uses sculpture, video, drawing, sound, and music to create a unique experience that takes visitors on a symbolic journey in search of independence. For Lovell, the river symbolizes the final boundary to freedom. Visitors become engulfed within the river itself, surrounded by projected images of flowing water and the sounds of the environment, moving alongside Lovell’s haunting Conté crayon portraits as companions on the ongoing search for freedom."The Cummer Museum also has three amazing gardens in three different styles, all of which we were able to explore. Not only were there paths overlooking the water, flowers, fountains, and trees everywhere, but one of the gardens is also home to one of the oldest trees in Jax, an oak tree that is estimated to be between 175 and 200 years old and has a span of 150 feet.
After we had explored most of the museum, we once again got on the buses to go to our next stop. At first glance, it looked like an abandoned warehouse with a bunch of graffiti on the side. We soon learned, however, that it is an extremely prestigious art district called CoRK. On the Corner of Rosselle and King, CoRK is home to the studios of ~70 extremely talented artists. It's apparently very difficult to ever have an in with CoRK - you either need to have a connection or pay a large amount of money for a ticket for a benefit night or something. Evidently we had a connection, because we got a tour and the works. It pretty much just made me jealous because of how talented all of the artists were, and I also enjoyed meeting the few that were working at the time of our visit. We chatted with a watercolor painter, a photographer, and a metal sculptor, and we also got to see a lot of unfinished pieces that other artists had left lying around.
Once we had toured CoRK, we made our way to Edward Waters College, a HBCU in Jacksonville. While we were there, a man whose full name I cannot remember but everyone called Pedro (pronounced peedro) talked to us about some of the initiatives taken in the more impoverished areas of Jacksonville. He told us stories from his own life, and gave us some suggestions on building relationships with both students and parents/guardians. He also taught us about one of the programs he is a part of that works with families to put a child on a success plan, starting in the womb and ending in college or the work force. Obviously I'm a couple weeks behind in my posts and I don't quite remember all of the things he talked about, but I do know it was very interesting and he was a very well-spoken man.
Upon completing his talk, Pedro then took us on a bus tour of some of the areas from which many of our kids may be coming from. We also stopped at one of the schools where they were having a big science fair type thing. One of the groups was outside shooting off bottle rockets that they made out of PVC pipe, water, and two-liters. It was very entertaining and we all got sprayed with water but they shot off pretty well.
After we shot off those rockets, we went back to the office for a panel. Several members of the community came in and told us what they did and then we had sort of a Q&A session with them. Three out of the four worked in non-profits in the city, and then one worked for the downtown planning/development stuff. They mostly talked about how we could get involved in the community and how valuable our input is, even if we aren't actually from Jax. There are so many awesome things that organizations have available for students, like there is this Thanksgiving service thing where people from all religions and all ways of life come together for one big learning and cultural experience. I will hopefully be able to go to that because it sounds extremely interesting.
Once our day at the office was done, I went to Artwalk with a few of my friends. It was kind of rainy so it wasn't really out to the full extent, but I did buy a succulent in a cool little pot and we also got to listen to some great spoken word.
As you can see, there's a reason I wanted to include Wednesday in a separate post. I only wish I hadn't gotten so far behind... I'll hopefully be able to catch up by the end of this week!!
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