LAX ANNOUNCES SUMMER ART PROGRAM FOR AREA YOUTH
(Los Angeles, CA – June 27, 2000) This summer, 200 youth from Central Los Angeles communities located adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will work together to create a three-dimensional art display that will welcome millions of passengers to the City of Los Angeles at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX.
Students from Central Los Angeles, Inglewood, Westchester, Lennox, Venice, Hawthorne and El Segundo will have an opportunity to share what they feel makes Los Angeles a great city with LAX’s international visitors through the Airport Kiosk Project 2000 program. The program is an eight-week, multi-cultural art and human relations program sponsored by Los Angeles World Airports (which owns and operates LAX), Art Share Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles Human Relations Commission.
Airport Kiosk Project 2000 is designed to develop four teams of 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th grade youth working together during two-week sessions to create a large multi-medium kiosk and engage in educational activities. Up to 200 students will be accepted to participate in the program.
"The purpose of the program is to give students pride in their city and teach them how to communicate that pride to the rest of the city," said Chip Hunter, Executive Director and Founder, Art Share Los Angeles. "We hope that they will have a better understanding of Los Angeles and all that it has to offer."
Dr. Warren Valdry, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners said, "Kiosk is a High Fidelity Project that integrates learning with the arts, with the added benefits of cultural diversity and thematic interdisciplinary teaching and learning. There is no better way, to bring our youth from surrounding communities together as technology is being transferred to the next generation through the arts."
Students will take part in a variety of activities designed to create a forum in which they can express themselves and explore the differences in their backgrounds and geographical areas of Los Angeles. They will create ceramic tiles depicting scenes that incorporate what they love about Los Angeles that will be used to create a 3-sided, 6-foot high ceramic multi-medium kiosk. The freestanding kiosk will contain a monitor on each side, playing a loop of youth greeting travelers in a multitude of Los Angeles languages and will feature suspended fiberglass and multi-medium sculptures above. Students will also be given educational materials to take home that will teach them how to greet visitors in another language and receive an education on how to turn negatives into positives during five consecutive days of workshops.
"The airport is a perfect place for students to participate in an art project that demonstrates the extraordinary cultural diversity of Los Angeles, and it is the perfect place for visitors to our City to appreciate that diversity," said Los Angeles City Councilmember Rita Walters, 9th District, in whose district Art Share Los Angeles is based.
"The best way to teach children the value of diversity and creativity is to help them work together toward a meaningful common goal," said Los Angeles City Councilman, 5th District, Mike Feuer. "This project will enable young people to express their unique visions of Los Angeles by collectively making a beautiful piece of public art."
"I commend Art Share Los Angeles, LAWA, and the Human Relations Commission for developing this project to enrich children’s lives and produce a piece of living art that will welcome people from all over the world to Los Angeles," added Los Angeles City Councilmember, 6th District, Ruth Galanter.
In regards to the cultural issues addressed by the project, Joe R. Hicks, Executive Director, Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission, said, "We are pleased to be in partnership with the Los Angeles World Airports. Once again they have demonstrated their care and concern for human relations issues among Los Angeles’ youth. We see the program as providing a forum to bring young people together that otherwise would not have occasion to meet each other and share ideas."
Noting LAX’s commitment to cultural diversity, LAWA Executive Director Lydia Kennard said, "We are delighted at the opportunity to work again this summer with the Human Relations Commission and Art Share Los Angeles, to provide local youth from a variety of backgrounds with a forum to understand each other better."
The kiosk and sculpture will be stored at Art Share Los Angeles’ downtown facility until each of the workshops are completed. On September 23, 2000, the finished kiosk and sculpture will be unveiled during a public ceremony at Art Share’s gallery, after which the kiosk will be transported to TBIT where it will be on display for six months.
Program sponsors have allocated $60,000 to the Airport Kiosk Project 2000 for staffing, materials, fabrication and installation costs for the kiosk. The first two-week session began on July 10, 2000. Applications are currently being accepted for the program on a rolling admission basis, and any youth interested in participating should contact Cassandra Ramos or Gail Gaddi at LAX at (310) 646-5260.
