Dear Lincoln Elementary <3
Dear Lincoln Elementary,
I am missing you all so much already. Wowwwwwwww. Seriously though, time is whipping by so fast and I can’t believe our 4-week art portal, Egun Gardens, has come to a close for this summer season. Let me just share a little + a lotta gratitude & appreciations.
To the incredibly brilliant, gifted, magical, and spiritFULL 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders doing their thing at Lincoln Elementary in Richmond, CA, I give so much thanksss!
Ya’ll are literally EVERYTHING. Ya’ll are Prime, Period. Thank you for creating art with me, dancing with me, and singing with me. Thank you for being open to creating art in honor of our ancestors, our egun. Each day we spent time with our Egun Gardens, I saw your art evolve, transform, and become a beautiful reflection of your creative and inner gifts. You all are powerful artists, powerful keepers of your family’s history, powerful intuitives and powerful shapers of our future, àṣẹ.
Thank you for your energy and all the ways you teach and share wisdom. Thank you for communicating your needs ALWAYS. Thank you for letting your friends, teachers, mentors and adults around you know when you need something, feel some type of way, feel excluded, feel excited, are hungry, need time alone, need more space, need to express emotions, feelings, need your experiences, culture, history to be collectively acknowledged. I/Us/We hear you. Let us honor your lesson of expression over suppression, àṣẹ.
Thank you for your patience and adaptability while moving through a long, long day/evening, every day of the week. You all deserve rest, much much rest, and space to just be.
Thank you for all of this magical co-creation and I hope to see many of you next summer!
To the Facilitators, Teachers, Mentors, and Staff of Lincoln Elementary’s Summer Afterschool Program, I give so much thanksss!
Every single time I pop into an Afterschool or Summer Programming Space, I am always in awe of the work that the Teachers, Mentors, and Staff do on a consistent and daily basis to support and care for youth. The level of kindness, empathy, ability to hear the needs of youth and provide a container for expression, learning, and connecting is beautiful and brings me a lot of hope for what could be. Sending a HUGE APPRECIATION to all the Teachers and Mentors at Lincoln Elementary (Ms. Alondra, Ms Charmilah, Ms Sarahi, Ms. Luceal, Ms. Jasmine, Ms. Saudi, Ms. Alina, Ms. Winston and those whose name I don’t know) who I got a chance to connect with and make art with. You all are amazing and really out here showing up for everyone!!! I hope to see you all in the near future!
To Lincoln Elementary’s Food Bank & Staff, I give so much thanks!
Times is hard out here! Gas hella high. Food hella high. And my pockets are definitely feeling the impacts of inflation, an economy approaching a recession, and fleeting/changing industries. Resources like food banks and community gardens are even more necessary/lifesaving right now. I have a feeling we all will be leaning on them even more as the changes we are witnessing in the Bay continue to unfold. I give thanks for the abundant boxes of fresh greens & fruits! Mo dupe!
To the Richmond Art Center, I give so much thanks!
Thank you Richmond Art Center for the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Artist this Summer 2023. Thank you for connecting me with Lincoln Elementary and the chance to be a part of a really kind, healing, and creative learning rhythm supporting Richmond kids this summer. Thank you for programs like this, linking artists to schools serving youth with multicultural histories and experiences. Thank you for the space and support to create art honoring and exploring our connections and relationships to our ancestors! Abundant appreciations to the RAC team.