Today is the last day that I will lead the creative writing co-op as a Master Teaching Artist (MTA) at ArtWorks, a paid summer internship program in the arts for high school students. It will be the hardest day of my teaching/mentoring career because the job allowed me to be extraordinarily vulnerable. It forced me to call upon my courage, confidence and creative capacities as an artist in ways that I too often shy away from. I had to reveal to get my student interns to reveal and access their true potential as writers. I had to show up, and now I don’t want to go home. (Read more about ArtWorks here.)

For six hours-a-day, five days-a-week for six weeks at the Bakehouse Art Complex and the Miami Light Project, teams of student interns worked directly with MTAs on projects aimed at developing professional skills while creating works of art. The program is open to all students, regardless of their artistic experience, which allows for a diverse group whose varied creative energies foster each others’ creative capacities. ArtWorks student interns are divided by artistic discipline and led by MTAs Alejandro Bahia (dance), Latrice Bruno (theater), JeanPaul Mallozzi (visual art), Carlos Noguera (visual art) and myself. The program culminated in a performance and art installation The Light Box at the Goldman Warehouse.

ArtWorks creative writing co-op gives feedback on original song by Angelica Cabrera and original score by Reyln Myrthil.

ArtWorks creative writing co-op perform original song “Is it Enough” written by Angelica Cabrera and set to an original score by Reyln Myrthil.

The summer started out in a pretty straightforward way. I assigned my creative writing interns to write a book of poems, a collection of short stories, a collaborative play, a personal narrative, artist interviews, artist profiles and art critiques. Standard stuff. I asked them to create a blog and upload content that represented their best work. The last thing we did was write Knight Arts Challenge proposals that the student interns may submit next year.

What I couldn’t plan for is the quality and variety of work created, the courage and audacity of their words, and the way their voices resonated and connected all of us through the arts. I also soon discovered not all creative writers are introverts and many of my writers were eager to perform individual songs, poems, raps, personal narratives and collaborative work that they created throughout the program during the culminating performance. All of this was made possible by my incredible Assistant Teaching Artist Angelica Cabrera, who gathered us all in a circle during week one and showed us how to play the game: “where the wind blows.” The important thing to know is this: we bonded. After the game, I asked writers to reveal a “moment that changed their life.” They hesitated for a moment, but the fear of saying what needed to be said vanished quickly. There was no going back, and we literally made music.

Despite my allegiance to the creative writing co-op, ArtWorks isn’t just about creative writing. It’s about community. It’s about building a network of artists and using those connections among different disciplines to create synergies, develop professional skills and, most importantly, to innovate and create art. In fact, without my fellow MTAs, Assistant Teaching Artists and interns, I wouldn’t have had so much fun. Visual art MTAs JeanPaul Mallozzi and Carlos Noguera played a brilliant game of good cop/bad cop. The duo essentially co-led two co-ops through a tour de force of prompts that used their individual strengths as artists to foster growth in their interns. They challenged students to experiment with concept and content, and students created works that were conceptual, intentional, whimsical, haunting, personal and hysterical. Arts for Learning Executive Director Sheila Womble & student intern Josh discuss work created by visual art interns.

ArtWorks visual art co-op installation and pre-show reception.

Led by MTA Alejandro Bahia, the ArtWorks dance co-op choreographed a series of dances that examined identity as well as the collective identity of the community. Specifically, with Bahia’s guidance, his co-op revealed the impact Jim Crow laws have had on destroying the cultural and economic backbone of Overtown. His co-op showed how racist laws and nefarious urban planning can destroy a once thriving community.

ArtWorks pre-show rehearsal. Dance co-op.

The theater co-op, led by the inexhaustible Latrice Bruno, performed excerpts from plays, monologues and a film which explored identity, deconstructed stereotypes and examined the stigma of HIV/AIDS within the African American community. Bruno’s co-op, by far the loudest and most raucous group, helped all of the co-ops to loosen up and get out of their cocoons. They opened us up and had a huge impact on the rest of the ArtWorks community.

ArtWorks Theater co-op student intern Sherrod Taylor performs “Don’t Rain on my Parade.”

On my way to rehearsals Wednesday morning, I cried and laughed at the voice in my head that said: who do you think you are? Heading south on NW 2nd Avenue, a queer torrent of fear and terror gripped me as I approached the Miami Light Project. I never thought I would be responsible for co-directing a group of creative writers to perform on stage, let alone a group of 14- to 18-year-old students. What do I know about teenagers? I don’t have kids, and I’m terrified of the spotlight. I shut that voice up real fast. Whatever comes of the performance, I said to myself, at least we’re showing up. ArtWorks creative writing co-op rehearses “Confidence,” written by Jansil.

ArtWorks creative writing co-op rehearses “Off the Books,” written and produced by student intern Jose Hernandez.

And we showed up. Not just creative writing, but all of the co-ops came together and demonstrated the awesome power of the arts to reveal who we were, who we are and, most importantly, who we aspire to be. ArtWorks creative writing co-op student interns Gwendolyn, Roxan, Susan and Andrea perform improvised raps without a script or warning.

About A4L: Arts for Learning (A4L) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing teaching and learning through the arts and community cultural resources. As a leading source of arts integrated programs in Miami, A4L connects the arts to other subjects to support academic achievement and child development. A4L’s comprehensive services include teacher and artist professional development, arts-integrated instruction, student studio programs, community art programs, student internships and mentoring. A4L educational endeavors develop life and communication skills, build self-esteem, support literacy and problem solving, and encourage students to become self-directed learners. A4L partners with Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, and Young Audiences – A4L’s national affiliate. A4L also serves as the South Florida Wolf Trap, a regional program of Wolf Trap Institute for Early LearningTM. A4L’s services are delivered to more than 5,000 children and youth in approximately 50 schools, preschools, after-school programs and summer camps throughout Miami-Dade and Broward.