Kids Reconstruct with Creativity

Kids Reconstruct with Creativity is a special project of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

Support is provided by our generous leadership sponsors:

Generous support also provided by:

Katrina, The Killer Storm
Joseph Arias, Age 8, LA

The Kids Reconstruct with Creativity project exhibits original artwork and writing created by young people of all ages in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

The art and writing represents the full spectrum of the hurricane experience—from the intimate work of young people directly affected along the Gulf Coast to the powerfully empathetic responses of students nationwide.

Kids Reconstruct with Creativity brings the authentic, unfiltered voice of young people to a national audience. That voice reminds us how important creative expression can be as a vehicle for dealing with loss and dislocation, and as an engine of healing, reconstruction, and recovery.

Untitled
Eric Bischoff, Age 8, LA

The art and writing curated by the Alliance will be exhibited in four venues, and a virtual gallery of all the works will be posted at www.artandwriting.org from August 2006 - January 2007. The interactive components of the website provide the opportunity for students nationwide to continue to share their experiences with one another through creative expression. As reconstruction continues, this call and response will once again illuminate the power of our human connection in times of crisis.

Reaction
Lillian Xie, Age 13, CA

The Alliance could not have done this project without the support of its project partners who have shared the commitment to bring the voices of youth about these events to a national audience.

A special thanks to: Sue Stoffel, co - curator of the exhibitions; Benny Andrews, Rosemary James, Dan Piersol for their project commentary; Karen Proctor, President of The Maurice R . Robinson Fund, and Kyle Good and Cathy Lasiewicz of Scholastic Corporate Communications for promotion support and the following education leaders who helped us find the voices of our participating youth: Alabama Art Education Association, A .W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts, Brooklyn Museum, DreamYard /Mississippi Whole Schools Initiative- Post-Katrina Arts Partnership, Harris County Department of Education, Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition, Mississippi Museum of Art, The Arts Education Department of The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Palm Beach County Art Teachers Association, Waynesburg College, Wellington High School, and The Wichita Center for the Arts.
Click here to see a list of additional participants.