2022 Awaken Your Dreams Poetry & Art Show Recap
We are so grateful to report that the Awaken Your Dreams Poetry and Art Show was a resounding success! It was a wonderful way to come together in-person and celebrate creativity while supporting Philadelphia youth.
This past year has been one of healing, change, and new beginnings for us and our students. As Philadelphia grappled with a new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic, our students bravely persevered through the social disarray caused by these changes — they continued to express themselves, envision new futures, and create fantastic works through a newly in-person school year for some, and virtual school year for others.
ArtWell also adapted to these changing times. The Awaken Your Dreams Poetry & Art Show was our first in-person event in three years. Featuring poetry and art from students from Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy, C.C.A. Baldi Middle School, Emlen Elementary School, George W Nebinger School, John H. Taggart School, Parkway Northwest High School, and Saint Francis de Sales School, this exhibition aimed to uplift the voices and visions of our incredible students.
Dozens of passersby, along with ArtWell partners and friends, stopped by the exhibition. They admired, reflected, and connected with the student works and each other — in those moments, we witnessed how community can blossom from art and poetry.
Alethea Chisholm, a partner and good friend to ArtWell, shared her thoughts: “The wealth of support provided for my students and I unlocks amazing talent which may otherwise go unseen, or worse, unrealized; and exemplary projects are produced as showcased at the Awaken Your Dreams Poetry and Art Show. My students and I have always had a wonderful and exciting experience. The artists are very astute. Our working relationship has a collaborative feel where I believe our visions come together and produce positively unimaginable outcomes. My students and I enjoy creative expression, and it is very much needed in a community of diverse cultures and learners.”
Here are some of those amazing talents, realized:
“Everything that I am is enough” — 8th-grade students from the John H. Taggart School created stunning stained glass-inspired works with hidden words of affirmation for themselves.
7th-grade C.C.A. Baldi Middle School students drew inspiration from their bodies and identities to create a poetry collection touching upon themes of healing and celebration.
Parkway Northwest High School students shared a collage of their journal entries. They also created dioramas with social justice statements accompanied by poetry.
Poem pictured:
“I am a Black Child”
I am special, ridicule cannot sway me
I am strong, obstacles cannot stop me
I hold my head high, proudly proclaiming my uniqueness.
I hold my peace, continuing forward through adversity.
I am proud of my culture and heritage
I am confident that I can achieve my every goal.
I am becoming all that I can be
I am a Black Child.
5th graders from George W. Nebinger School created a collective poem about stopping gun violence.
Excerpt from poem pictured:
“I Can. We Can. Stop Gun Violence”
I can protest against guns and say, “No guns!”
We can make guns harder to have
We can write letters about banning guns in Philadelphia
We can PROTEST!
Our Teaching Artists also swung by to celebrate and check in on their featured works — ArtWell staff member Keyonna Butler and Teaching Artists Valerie Anderson and Jessica Eldredge displayed designer bags, fabrics, and prints that wowed the crowds.
Luckily for anyone who missed out on the show, many of these works will be on display at Gryphon Cafe for the month of July and The Logan hotel this fall, leading up to and during the 2022 ArtWell Awards on October 27th.
We’d also like to give a big thank you to PA Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, who made this event possible. If you’d also like to contribute to the futures of our organization and our students, feel free to make a donation at theartwell.org/donate.