Making a Statement

Education Youth

Karina Martinez describes how the School Partnership for Art and Civic Engagement has furthered her artistic practice.

I like that it's not a set thing. When I walked into my art classroom, I told my art teacher that I had never taken an art class before, and she was like, "Well, this isn't your typical art class. You don't have to draw with a pencil. You could do whatever you want." And so that's what I really liked about it. It didn't have to be what everyone thought art was. 

To be in a collective means that we all have our own ideas and we work together to create projects. And we bounce off ideas off each other. It's not like a classroom where the teacher tells you what to do. We decide what we want to do as a group, and built on from there. The way I like making art for is for social justice. I'm really into politics, and the way I use art is to make a statement. When I go to rallies and stuff, I always have a poster. I see people with posters, and they all have different meanings, but they're all used to make a statement.

Students from Columbia College participate in The Fantasorium, a project by Claire Arctander. Photo: Claire Arctander.

Students from Columbia College participate in The Fantasorium, a project by Claire Arctander. Photo: Claire Arctander.

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