Self and Society: Innovative Digital Storytelling of Identity Through Song
We need professional musician, producer and visual artist, Ben Julia, to facilitate songwriting, recording, visual branding for t-shirts and the execution of a public mural.
Soha, Zola, Miles, Calia, Dakota, Anna and their classmates attend a progressive public high school that creates learning environments based on external, experiential education. Recognized as a ”non-traditional academic haven for struggling students,” our students sought out the program because of the experiential learning opportunities through internships. Our students know they learn differently- some learn by seeing some by hearing, others by doing. They came to our school to receive an individualized education that will help them to reach their full potential. These students have transferred from educational institutions from all over New York City. Our school population includes students who are overage and under-credited with over 10 percent homeless, living in temporary shelters, or in foster care; safety transfers–students; young mothers and fathers utilizing on-campus childcare services; and teens leaving residential psychiatric facilities and correctional facilities.
Our school helps provide a diverse group of committed interns to businesses and organizations across all five boroughs, breaking down barriers and prejudices against the city's hardest-to-reach young people while providing them with real-world skills to help jump-start their future. MAD Academy (Music, Art, Design) helps students gain pre-professional training to be prepared to pursue creative industry careers.
Students will write/record memoir songs using digital software then develop visual representations for t-shirts and public murals. The songs will tell the story of important aspects of their individual identity and experiences and speak to larger social issues creating rich exploration of self and society.
Students will develop a unique, authentic voice that enhances the audience's understanding of them while engaging in thoughtful, sophisticated self-reflection and introspection. In incorporating traditional and digital storytelling, we harness the power of specific digital tools to communicate deep human experiences and emotions. This project supports students to: build relationships and empathize with others; know the history of the communities that they belong to and their interconnectedness with other communities; see themselves as capable learners and powerful community members with important ideas to communicate; learn from mistakes; use effort, practice and reflection to grow; ask questions about the world and seek answers to them through the inquiry process; reason logically and develop sound arguments.
In Their Own Words
Making art and music is about sharing, being vulnerable to confront society and say, “This is me, and this is what I have to say.” This project is an opportunity to uplift our voices along with all our peers, our fellow youth. To often we are ignored and belittled, but, in our school and MAD Academy, we finally have the opportunity to do something we love to combat the issues all around us. Not only will we improve our skills creatively but we can actually make a difference through our music and lyrics. It is important that students are supported to understand themselves and then express that to others. We want to write these songs and share them with the world. It is exciting to think we can write memoir songs then design and make our own t-shirts and a mural from the lyrics so that more people can hear what we have to say.
We are very powerful and the ones who will be in charge of this world in the future. Our goal is to change the world with our songs, therefore we need to build our arsenal and inspire all who will help us in the battle for justice. One of the most amazing things about art is the artist could be feeling one specific emotion while creating their art, and everyone else could interpret that art in their own way.
It's not always easy for humans to express their feelings or experiences but with music and art; we can take the weight of the world and translate that to the hearts and minds of everyone. We attend an alternative school because the school system and much of society have failed us. This project will help us tell the stories of our struggles and have others see what society has put us through. Hopefully, this will help make changes in policies.
The thing we love the most about art and music is that you can easily express anything that’s on your mind through it. There is a song or art piece out there for everyone. It isn’t limited to only one group of people alone. Music and art allows you to be anything in the world that you want to be. But most importantly, you could be yourself and help others feel more themselves and connected to humanity through what you make.
Our world has a lot of problems and we have experienced a lot of trauma and pain through school, society and our family. We are at this school for a chance to heal and become who we want to be. This project means we can understand who we are and grow to change those things that have hurt us.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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