Call for HS Student Artists in Chicago & Illinois

PUSH Excel & HumanThread Present:

"I AM" Juried High School Student Art Exhibition 2013

Dear School Administrators, Art Educators, Community Organizers, and to whom it may concern,

We are writing to inform you about an exciting opportunity for your students. Push Excel and HumanThread Center/Gallery for Peace, Arts & Education have partnered to bring to you an "I AM" Juried High School Student Art Exhibition.Opening in March 2013, this project is intended to be an annual opportunity for the youth.
We are hoping you will share this opportunity with your students. Selected artists will have the opportunity to have their art exhibited in a professional gallery setting and be candidates for prizes for artistic merit. They can also participate in a public opening reception at HumanThread Gallery, which is a member of the Chicago Arts District and an award ceremony at Rainbow Push Coalition for friends, families, and the educators of the participating artists.
Please review the information about the project defined (see the right column). The following links will also provide you with the information on the project: www.humanthread.net & PUSHForExcellence.org/www.rainbowpush.org/.
Please feel free to let us know should you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your time and kind consideration. We look forward to your participation in this exciting project to inspire and empower youth through ART!
Respectfully,
Reverend Janet Wilson
Executive Director
PUSH For Excellence
(PUSH Excel) &
Michiko Kobayashi
Director
HumanThread Center/Gallery
For Peace, Arts & Education

Contact: Project Director: Jeanette Thompson – Art Educator, CICS Northtown Academey HS Email questions to: studentexhibitionhumanthread@gmail.com
OR, Call HumanThread at 312.243.9423

• February 6, 2013 – Electronic Submission Deadline
• February 11, 2013 – Notification of jury selection
• February 15, 16, & 18th 2013 – Drop off/delivery of pieces to HumanThread gallery
• March (Date TBA) – Artists' Reception/Announcement of the award winners at Rainbow Push Coalition Headquarters
• March 8th 2nd Friday Gallery Opening at HumanThread Gallery

Objectives and Scope of Project: The I AM Juried Student Art Exhibition project aims to help today's Chicago youth and the youth across the state of Illinois explore their identity and how they are perceived in the world they live in by their peers, their community and the adults that surround them.

We all live in a world of assumptions, accusations and stereotypes that try to define who we are. We judge and are judged daily, be it by the color of our skin, the clothes we wear or the way we speak. These things do not define us. There is more to who we are than how we look, dress, or speak. I AM exhibition challenges teenagers to take a closer look at who they are, as defined by their actions and choices, and who they are not, defined by society's classifications. The goal of this project, therefore, is Self-Knowledge ("Know thyself," ancient Greek maxim).

Invitation to Students:We invite students to explore who they are even further than just stereotypes, including the possibility of projected bias and/or the internalization process that stems from the outside expectations of them. We invite students to explore if their "choices and actions" could be potentially closely linked to meeting others' expectations of them – which leads to a question - when does 'social-learning/conditioning' end and free-will begin in one's life? Thus, this is their opportunity to not only explore their self-image and the images imposed on them by others or society but make a statement about the struggle they may go through to express and reveal their truer identity and who they really are, through "I AM" ART.

Lesson Plans: Teachers may request interdisciplinary lesson plans to assist them with the complex theme of the exhibition and foster personal growth among their students.