Gentrification

These are three important points that I learned through this week's readings:

-Gentrification is used in a negative way, but in fact not all of its implications are negative. The current problem with gentrification is that the positive outcomes of it (such as new buildings and increased economic activity) are not to the benefit of the long-term residents of the area, but to the benefits of the people who have newly arrived.

-Gentrification threatens to completely change a urban area, erasing an important part of its history and therefore richness. This is important not only because a culture's heritage should be valued, but also to the people who have lived in the area and who see their roots in it.

-East Austin is now very different from what it was before and we have to be conscious of the fact that, one century ago, it was a place of segregation. The dynamics and lifestyle that have been built up over the years by the inhabitants of the area have been brutally interrupted and are now not recognisable anymore.

CRAFT

The five stages of the CRAFT model are the following
-Contact, that is building trust and mutual understanding in order to stabilise the partnership.
-Research, that is to learn about the people, places and issues one is working with
-Action, that is the product of art that will benefit the community
-Feedback on the new work in order to spread its impact
-Teaching, that is sustain the impact by passing on skills.

The stages are applied through art, learning and social change.

For the Holly Street Oral History Project, it will be important to do research on the following points:
-The Holly Street community
-Martin Middleschool
-Oral History Project Development
-Projects with children
-Photojournalism

These are three important points I have gained since I started the Global Project Development class:

-When working with people about their past and about their current lives, it is important to be aware of the fact that my expectations or beliefs about certain things might differ from the ones of the people I will be working with. Concerning asking questions for the interview of the oral history project, I have learned from my readings how important it is not to brusk people into things, because we might not be sensitive or hesitant on the same issues. More generally,  is important to respect the environment one enters when developing a project for a community.

-One of the documents related to my project gives detailed recommendations for how to make an interview for oral history. It is very important to have this kind of information because some steps that might seem small are actually very important. I learned that it is important to keep the questions simple, and above all to ask one question at the time. Also, silences are not  a problem, because if an interviewee is thinking about an answer, the outcome might even be more interesting than answers that are rushed. Also, respecting the interviewee and letting him be honest about what is comfortable for her/him, while at the same time being honest ourselves about the objectives of the interview is a key point.

-What I have also learned is how important it is to think about the final visual outcome of the project. It is important to have something very visual at the end in order for the oral history to be effective and to make sense to the children in the school. In order to reach that, it is important to settle on something precise in order to work towards each time we work on the project as a whole. Therefore, it is also important to do research on the visual aspect of the project. For example, we will research on photojournalism in order to document the project through pictures.

Community based Arts - the Insangmahal Arts Collective

While reading the book "Beginner's Guide to community-based arts", a story that really spoke to me was the one about the Insangmahal Arts Collective, which promotes building connection between organisations through art and a particular kind of love.
The initial problem it wanted to respond to was the difficulty for filipino americans to find a place in american society, which led to tearing apart their community.

As the collective grew bigger, it extended its objectives to persons of all kind of backgrounds.
Insangmahal organizes artistic events that aim at bringing different organisations together and allowing different people passing on important messages through their art and for the audience.
I found that idea very interesting, as it conveys this idea of love through sharing. Art of all kind is an important way to bring people together, allow sharing ideas and advocating strong beliefs.
I also found the idea of supporting a US congress law concerning filipino veterans through an Insangmahal event that brought together a coalition of organisations working to pass that law very interesting, because it not only aimed at educating people about an injustice being made, but also incorporated a positive aspect of the subject, that is celebrating the success of this coalition.
Also, I think that such entertaining events that comprise such different ways of expression is an intelligent way to gather people together, as art is something that people regardless of their background are more likely to enjoy than formal conferences or strictly educational event.