Last week, the Prospect Lions launched a new partnership with DreamYard, a Bronx-based arts nonprofit working at the intersection of social just and arts education. During her first class with Prospect Afterschool, Cindy Ferrer, an instructor for DreamYard, led students through a series of icebreakers, encouraging them to connect with one another over a series of prompts.
Afterwards, she shared some of her own art with the students, including a white folders adorned with her name and a tag she’d created for herself, surrounded by illustrations intended to represent different aspects of her life.
She then explained step-by-step how the students could form their own folders out of large white papers, which they promptly began decorating with their own tags, symbols, and drawings. These folders will be used in all subsequent lessons to carry the artwork, photographic prints, and other designs that the students will make during their lessons with Ferrer.
Many of the students opted to recreate Ferrer’s tag with their own names, embellishing their designs with their own personal touches. One student used tape to create geometric red lines running across her folder. Another requested assistance in recreating the silhouette of a dancer “flossing,” a trendy viral dance move.
Throughout the introductory lesson, Ferrer encouraged the students to express themselves through their work, an exercise that will prove useful as the students continue to develop their skills in new artistic mediums.
