#thesavageway won an art grant sponsored by Project Art Aid’s Queen City Soup. The grant is to execute positive Clean Graffiti messages/art around high-risk Charlotte neighborhoods. Upon winning, #thesavageway partnered with Project LIFT & West Charlotte High School to make a larger, more direct community impact. As this project unfolds, #thesavageway will be documenting their experience working with the students.
Time for another Clean Graffiti Art Grant Progress Update! On March 24, 2015, we returned to the West Charlotte High School campus for the final presentations of the students’ Clean Graffiti design ideas. Since this Clean Graffiti project was incorporated into the curriculum, the two groups had to give us a formal presentation (public speaking, power point and all) to explain their idea.
West Charlotte High School IB Art Students with #thesavageway.
Once again we brought along videographer Jacob Teer but this time we also had Eric Halili of Rebrand Media join us for additional footage and interviews.
The crew! Left to right: Jacob Teer, Eric Halili, Paula Bartlett, Torrie Savage. #thesavageway
Group 1:
First up was the group that called themselves “The Brainy Bunch.” Team members Sinclair, Lobna, T’maizjah, Valery and Caleb presented their idea to “Choose Your Own Path.” The idea stemmed from the notion that determining who you are in life should be your decision and that you shouldn’t have to follow down someone else’s path. They talked about the right brain/left brain dichotomy and how it’s okay to be different. They design was both whimsical/creative and yet structured. The group member were great presenters, very professional and well spoken. They even thought through incorporating social media into the design and how that exposure would help inspire students beyond the school.
Group 1 presents their Clean Graffiti idea for #thesavageway at West Charlotte High School.
Group 2:
Then we had the pleasure of watching Group 2. While they didn’t have a creative name for their group like Group 1, it was clear in their intentions. Team members included Ketsana, Mathis, Amani, Miya and Makayla. Their idea was “We Rise By Lifting Others” and the design showcased powerful animals (an elephant, rhinoceros, lion and an eagle) all leaning on each other for support. The team boasted, “We can get to better places as a community by working together. It’s okay to ask for help!” They thought about how their message would impact not only West Charlotte High School but the Charlotte community as well!
Clean Graffiti idea for #thesavageway project from West Charlotte High School IB Art Students in Group 2.
Judging Criteria:
After the presentations, we had the difficult job of selecting a winner. When judging, we took into consideration the following:
- Overall concept
- Creativity
- Scalability to all 9 Project LIFT Schools
- “Stencilablity” of design
Winner:
While both teams did a wonderful job, we had to select a winner. And the winner is…. Drumroll…. Group 2!
Winning team members pose with Paula & Torrie of #thesavageway.
We are beyond grateful that all the students were open to this project and really took the idea to heart. We heard more positive feedback from the students than we could have ever imagined. The fact that they had the opportunity to put their stamp on this project and truly make it something that their fellow students and community members could be inspired by was everything to us!
Next Steps:
We will be transforming the students’ design into stencils and getting them cut. In the meantime, we will be finalizing the exact locations for each Project LIFT School and in about a month, we will return to West Charlotte High School to put down the completed project with the IB art students!
Stay tuned!!!