PEOPLE + PLACES PROJECT
INSPIRED BY FAMILY, TRAVEL AND CONVERSATIONS.
The mission of People + Places Project was to provide an inclusive space for communities to share stories about where they are and the places they live. In this mobile workshop, participants share stories about who they are and where they are from, then memorialize their experience with a self-made toy. In this in-person or virtual workshop, participants draw a picture of themself or someone they love, and share a story about where in the world they are from.
As a part of the workshop, participants learn to print, transfer and sew their drawing into a toy, that includes a voice recorded message. Each hug or squeeze to the toy, activates the message, and brings their memory back life.
Partial funding and additional community support for the People + Places Project has been provided by: California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities; the City of Chula Vista Performing and Visual Arts Grant; the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture; the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the University of California San Diego’s Institute of Arts and Humanities.
EVENTS
Mass Creativity is a series of artist-led outreach workshops designed to inspire imagination and creativity, and make hands-on art-making accessible to those that might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it. Each year the Mass Creativity program consists of complimentary workshops in diverse communities in San Diego and culminate in a free all-day event at the Museum called Mass Creativity Day.
This two-year program (2018-2019) extended the impact of our Mass Creativity outreach program through strengthened relationships and increased programming with multiple community partners. Comunidad allowed the Museum to explore new ways to become a stronger community resource to our partners by providing ongoing engagement, workshops, free museum admission, transportation and professional development opportunities.
As part of this program, the Museum featured a yearly community installation to showcase the art made by our partners. The 2019 installation, Community Links, was a sculptural mass of wires, tape, chimes, feathers and cords that was displayed for several months over the Main level of the Museum. These wire sculptures were made by families of our South Bay Community Services partner at two workshops developed by The New Children’s Museum. Learn more about Community Links here.
The Museum built bridges through a unique collaboration with Casa Familiar and University of California San Diego’s Institute of Arts and Humanities. We engaged with Latino/a families living in San Ysidro to make university and museum culture more accessible through documenting family stories, art-making workshops, special events, field trips to USCD, and even a past art installation, People + Places by Rizzhel Javier, in the Museum’s Community Gallery.
This program was made possible with support from California Humanities, a nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
EXHIBITIONS
his installation represented The New Children’s Museum’s exciting year-long collaboration with the People + Places project and its creator, local artist, Rizzhel Javier. The mission of People + Places was to provide an inclusive space for communities to share stories about where they are and the places they live. The contents of this gallery represented the contributions of hundreds of People + Places participants who took part in artist-led workshops at community partner organizations throughout the 2018 year and during the Museum’s annual Mass Creativity program. These partner organizations included: Barrio Logan College Institute; Casa Familiar; Skyline Hills Library in partnership with Asian Pacific Islander Community Actions (APICA) and Made in Paradise Hills; Solutions for Change; South Bay Community Services; Southern Sudanese Community Center; and The San Diego LGBT Community Center.
Through this installation, Museum visitors learned more about this project and take part in its spirit of community connection. Activities included a neighborhood play space, a photo booth opportunity for connecting with loved ones, a recording station for individual and group story sharing and related story books about family, home and community.
Partial funding and additional community support for the People + Places installation in The Community Gallery has been provided by: California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities; the City of Chula Vista Performing and Visual Arts Grant; the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture; the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the University of California San Diego’s Institute of Arts and Humanities.