The Emptiness Inside the Pot

marker on paper, 9" x 12", 2015

“We shape clay into a pot,
But it is the emptiness inside
That holds whatever we want.”
                                           - Lao Tzu 

This is an excerpt of a poem that the SFUSD Visual and Performing Arts Department is using to help people think about the concept of Curation and will be read aloud at ceremonies during the SFUSD Arts Festival. 

I took some time to draw a picture based on the verse as a way of meditating on my work in shaping the Where Art Lives program for the year (I’ve been contracted to coordinate the curriculum and classes of this arts education program on behalf of the SFAC).

As I schedule teachers at different school sites, I’m creating spaces for children and young adults to think deeply and creatively about how their city should look. The shape of the space matters - that’s going to determine the shape of the art that gets made.

I’m thinking about how to frame the lessons - I want the students to have clear goals for how to succeed in the classes and a real sense that their ideas matter (they do matter).

I want the students to have time to work on their art, but I also want them to benefit from plenty of instruction from our teaching artists. 

I want the lessons to connect to the world outside the classroom while also connecting with whatever excites the students.

The students in the program will be curators, too. They will be asked to imagine owning their own business in the future - how will they decide what to paint on the wall? How will they decorate the community they will build together with their classmates?

More information about Where Art Lives at: http://bit.ly/WAL2015-SignUp
And a film about the program at: http://bit.ly/WAL-film