Activist-Artist Summer Academy

• Read the Training Report-back
• Check out the BLOG featuring posts by training participants!
• Read the awesome Tundra Drums article about the training!
• Watch our YouTube video!
• Check out the photos from the week @ flickr.com/photos/ayea

Take a Gander at the Creative Works of Our Summer Training Participants! Click here to download full pdf

Memoir from peer leader Victor Onalik Jr.

Memoir from adult mentor Andrea Sanders

Spoken Word Poetry from Staff intern Nara McCray
Nara created the 2010 Summer Training blog!

Memoir from participant Brittany Akaran

Spoken Word from Arlo Beans, a training participant

Spoken Word Poetry from participant Heidi Kritz

Memoir and Spoken Word Poetry from participant Sandi Echuck

Spoken Word Poetry from participant Chris Beans

Memoir from participant Sassa Williams

Memoir from participant Kalen Kelly

Muraling Track

The teen muralists learned about the history of Yup’ik art and its connection to the environment, food, and culture. Participants designed their 15’ x 8’ mural around the concept of an evolving Yup’ik culture and the shared value of food and sustainability with their ancestors. They want their elders to know that even as they are progressing culturally into a modern Yup’ik lifestyle, they still love and practice a subsistence way of life, living off the land, and are proud of their Yup’ik cultural heritage. This track was led by Dillingham Yup’ik artist Apayo Moore. The mural was presented by the teens to the Orutsararmuit Native Council on behalf of the Bethel community.

Read the 2009 Summer Training Report-back:
Getting Creative About Climate Change

Read the 2008 Summer Training Report-back:
Art in Action: Telling Our Stories

Read Summer Training Overview:
AYEA Summer Training Overview

The Power of Art in Social Change

“Artists and arts organizations are applying the power of the artistic imagination in purposeful ways to contribute to social change. They are directly engaging communities in creative process and social action. They are animating public process and dialogue through art. They are influencing what gets attention in the public sphere and who participates, as well as perspective and opinion. The arts and artists are empowering people by validating people’s stories and perspectives and by bringing people together to discover shared goals and strength.” -Animating Democracy, “Artists Engaging in Social Change”, 2010