Date: Friday, January 24th, 2025
Times: 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Cost: $55
Level: All Levels
Workshop Description
In honor of Martin Luther King’s Day we highlight what isn’t said enough: you are beautiful! Every single part of you. From creatives like Lena Horne who were forced to enter hotels from the service entrances to artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat who revolutionized what holding your head with your crown on meant, we create self portraits in honor of the historical figures who created fearlessly.
Introduction to Basquiat: We’ll begin by discussing Jean-Michel Basquiat, his journey, and his artistic expression. Basquiat’s work combined assemblage, raw emotion, and cultural critique. We’ll focus on how he used materials like text, symbols, and collage to communicate his experiences.
The aim is to provide context for how his art transcends traditional boundaries, emphasizing the unconventional and expressive, themes that resonate with personal expression in both life and art.
Movement and Expression
◦ We will use expressive art therapy techniques that combine movement and visual art to release and explore feelings. Expressive art therapy is a powerful tool that allows people to express emotions and thoughts through creative means—whether it's painting, sculpting, dance, or movement. It bypasses the limitations of language and allows people to tap into deeper layers of their experience, creating space for self-healing and growth.
◦ Through free-flowing movement, participants will use their bodies to express internal experiences, preparing them for the art-making phase. The aim is to break down emotional barriers and open up pathways to creative expression.
2. Assemblage Art Making
◦ Participants will learn about assemblage—a style of art in which artists combine found objects and materials to create meaningful pieces. Basquiat’s work is known for using collage, scavenged materials, and symbolism, often layered in ways that express complex narratives.
◦ In this segment, participants will use a range of materials to create small, personal works of art. They will be encouraged to explore their inner world through the combination of materials, reflecting on their own experiences and emotions. This part of the workshop emphasizes raw expression, much like Basquiat’s pieces.
3 Pass the Canvas Collaboration
◦ Building on the individual creations, we will come together as a group to work on a collaborative piece. In the Pass the Canvas method, participants will take turns adding to a large communal canvas, allowing the piece to evolve through shared artistic input. This mirrors the community collaboration and shared experience seen in Basquiat’s collaborations with other artists.
◦ This collective effort emphasizes the power of community expression and shows how individual voices can come together to create something larger than the sum of its parts.