The most requested thing for dinner around here? Noodles. With butter.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Mercy Corps


Last week, Abby attended Artivism Camp at Mercy Corps in downtown Portland.  Their website states the camp's purpose as follows:

Learn how to use your creativity to inspire people to take action and get excited about global issues. Art for activism, Artivism raises awareness about social issues through the arts, including visual arts, dance, creative writing and theater.

The mornings were usually dedicated to learning about some local or global social issue, and the afternoons were spent creating.  One day, they walked around Portland and learned about the homeless and the issues that accompany homelessness.

I think she learned quite a bit and I could see that not only was she inspired to create, but she was also becoming more thoughtful about the world around her.

Here are a few shots of the building and the projects the kids did:





The schedule for the week- at the beginning of the week everything was covered up and only revealed to the kids as time drew near for each section.  It was sort of intriguing and kept the kids interested.
She is standing by the comic that she drew on Tuesday.
It is about a homeless cat who finds a friend and a place to stay.
(And seriously, I am not a cat person, but this comic was really moving and I found myself rooting for the cat and getting all teary when it found a friend.  My kiddo has mad storytelling skillz, y'all)
On Wednesday, they made books out of recycled materials.
On Thursday, they did "creative movement".  Not her favorite part. 
The group is getting ready for the parent art show on Friday afternoon.
Displays in the Mercy Corps lobby.
The collage made by all the campers.  If you look closely, you will see that all the pieces make up a map of the world.
Abby's part of the collage.
She incorporated the Mercy Corps logo into her part of the sign.


It was a very productive week, and she learned a lot that will help her in her leadership class at school next year.  I hope she can experience this again next summer!