Thursday, September 19, 2013
Blog Discussion #2
During our last class meeting we shared projects that past classes have done for their OTR Campaign Project. These projects included the OTR People's Movement Timeline and class 'zines. In addition, we described other projects students did in the past. We also showed you the OTR tour book that has recently been published and asked if there was any interest in deriving a project from that. Finally, we gave you time to go out into the neighborhood and pay attention to what you observed, in the hopes that you gain some insight into the community.
For this blog discussion, we would like you to share your thoughts regarding past OTR Campaign Projects that students have done, and/or any ideas you might have at this time for a project. Has reviewing any of the past OTR Campaign Projects sparked any ideas for you? Has spending some time observing and interacting in the neighborhood helped you come up with any ideas?
Please post a 50-100 word comment. In addition to posting your own 50-100 word comment, we encourage you to post any additional comments you might have to what others in class might say. Please submit your post your comments by our next class meeting, Wednesday, September 25th.
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I really enjoyed some of the entries inside the 'zines, in particular, the poetic entries. I am a big fan of creative expression and expansion on that as an avenue for education is right up my alley concerning the project. As of right now, I can't trigger any specific or concrete ideas for the project. I am helping with an interview next week and I think the experience will absolutely help with generating some ideas for my participation in the OTR Campaign Projects.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will share these few thoughts. In our small groups last class, I shared with a few of our classmates about my ignorance towards some of the buildings that have been constructed as a result of gentrification. To be more specific, I am talking about the boutique/hotel/bar, 21c. I came across and article that I found in Streetvibes that really shed some light for me. According to the article, the construction of that building displaced over a couple hundred people from their homes. This building made its debut November of last year. I felt somewhat guilty about it because about a month ago, a friend of mine took me to 21c fancy rooftop bar. To be honest with you, I had ever been nor did I know that it even existed.
The headline for the article in Streetvibes read something to the extent that 21c supports discrimination. It goes on to say how many people where displaced and the number of homes that were destroyed and included some generic demographics of the people that were affected.
I was really blown away, hence why I shared it with my classmates. Now, another friend has invited me to the same rooftop bar to celebrate her 30th birthday. I feel like I am in a strange kind of pickle.... Haha, I think I will just go to the bar and not spend any money, that way my conscious will not be too terribly disturbed.
I share this because I think the lack of distribution of information as well as individual research can lead people to be mislead to a degree and ignorant of certain information that might change their perspective in some fashion......... I can use my own personal experience as testimony.
Another thought that I have is that I would really like to look deeper into some of the statues and laws that allow for certain loopholes when it comes to moving people out of their homes for the sake of construction..is this without means of finding another place to live or what? What are some of these investors responsible for when they shake up the lives of people that are already having a hard time living within the means that they have??? I think I would like to interview some higher up representative from 3CDC or Western Southern, just to ask some questions especially concerning the legal end of it all and then match that with some moral questions that should not be separated from the bureaucratic agenda.
Okay that's it for now. Off to 21c now :(
I enjoyed reading your post! I like your kind of thinking and I think interviewing someone from 3CDC would be a great way to get better insight from the economic side of development. I would definitely be interested in helping!
DeleteI would love to take part in some sort of 'zine. I'm a HUGE fan of the Riot Grrrl movement of the early '90s (ask me about it some time) and creating a zine of some sort would be a kind of homage to my heroes for me personally.
ReplyDeleteNot only that, but I like the idea of a zine because it encourages lots of participation. Even people who don't enjoy working in groups can contribute a story to a zine, because the story can be as solitary or as interactive as they want it to be. They can also choose any aspect of OTR that fascinates them to talk about. It's a customization group project whose final result will reflect our class as a whole and has the potential to cover a wide range of topics that a more "focused" project could miss.
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ReplyDeleteAfter looking at the OTR tour book, I was thinking that it might be cool to work on a map that could be included to show the landmarks graphically. It reminds me of the self guided tour maps you see in other cities. People could use them independently as visitors or new residents, and it would enhance the tour book as a tool for the tours conducted through peaslee.
ReplyDeleteI'm really interested in what we could do with public installation art or a film published on the internet/ shown at People's movement events. I think it would be great to do something visual and attention grabbing - something that puts all of these events on the radar of ordinary people. It would be great it it was somehow participatory too - if people who lived here got to put a hand on it.
I'm also interested in trying to push along the People's movement timeline. Its a great artifact and I like the description "living document". Perhaps finding a way to make the timeline interactive or actually living is a possibility. Perhaps we could interpret the timeline into an installation, art piece, or media format that doesn't rely on needing to be printed and rolled out.
The community landmark map is an interesting concept, Meili. I am also intrigued by the living document idea. Contributing to such a document could have significant impact over the long haul.
DeleteI really enjoyed that time line and the way several of the zines were put together. They had the ability to very simple and yet very thought provoking at the same time. It is hard for me to come up with any ideas just yet I would like to read some more responses from other students. I would like to see were everyone is going with the idea and see if I could get some inspiration. If I had to choose now I would probably do a zine because it looks creative, fun and different. The community has helped me to at least start thinking about some of the pictures I would like to use like some of the art projects that the kids have made and maybe pictures of a few kids playing piano.
ReplyDeleteI think the 'zines are a very great way to create a community focused literature that addresses social issues. I especially liked the incorporation of the children's contributions. My only concern with them is that they aren't very widely seen. I only wish they could be distributed and have more attention drawn to them.
ReplyDeleteAfter touring the neighborhood a bit, my mind started going in the direction of some sort of event. This event could also incorporate the creative expression of the 'zines, while being more publicly seen. It could involve anything from poetry, narrative, or even just political rants of community members in front of a microphone. I feel that we should be making contacts within the community, and those contacts could be participants in this event that would be held, essentially, to support and encourage them.
I think it would be interesting if we did a coffee house or an event of some sorts. We could make 'zines and pass them out during the event. We could have free food and invite the OTR community and the communities surround OTR. We could have people share testimonies about living in Over the Rhine. I like Nikki's idea of poetry reading of community members. I think it would be an effective way of communicating to people the social injustice that is being faced in OTR.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has awesome ideas and I'm definitely looking forward to this project! Last week, Meilee and I discussed our interest in doing some sort of public installation project that would catch peoples attention and tells this communities story. I think it would be really neat to incorporate not only adults in this community, but also do something with children! As of now I am still brainstorming ideas of what installation we could do. Any ideas???
ReplyDeleteI missed the opportunity to view some of the past projects in class last week. However, it sounds like a project that allows for variation in prompt/ genre/media might work. I like the idea of the zines or the public-installation art. In the first major paper for this class, I looked at the efforts of a group of community members who are working to affect the overall design and appeal of a certain area in OTR that has yet to be redeveloped. The design plan for a section of the community is being called The Pleasant Street Vision Study and approval/denial of the vision details will come from 3CDC. The project is supported by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing. Might it be worth-while looking at other community-based efforts that could be supported by our class? The buildings and sites are central to the history of this place. I think it would be great to spend some energy supporting preservation efforts of some kind or helping some organization achieve its goals.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the zines. I felt especially the one in color that was of the students in school really was a good idea. Perhaps we as a class could do something similar, the only caveat I have is perhaps we can find a way of distributing it wider. Perhaps also uploading a digital copy that can be sent out to various organizations in the community where the paper copy cannot reach them. Perhaps one however that has a different focus, perhaps stories from some of the residents at the Drop Inn Center or the Jimmy Heath House. That, along with some photos of the people themselves, might put more of a direct face on what's going on with them and the community.
ReplyDeleteA few of us talked about doing a coffee house type event where people could come in and tell their story in a creative environment. This would be a neat way to incorporate programs that other organizations in the neighborhood do and display what they are doing. I think that this would be a great opportunity to bring all sides of OTR together as well. This would be an opportune time for all neighbors to come and share. It could have a focus of OTR and we could invite people from all walks. This could be a chance to start the conversation of collaboration. Sometimes people view a story better in that type of environment and not having a story "thrust" on them in what they may deem an uncomfortable situation.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I will not be in class with you today. The president of Miami has invited me to a special event this afternoon and I have accepted.
ReplyDeleteStudents over the years, with Chris, Alice, and I as well as others from the neighborhood have been doing this kind of engagement work for a long time. But it is always exciting because of what you all bring to it. I like the energy in the posts. There is still much to figure out, but that's the fun part....to strategically plan an action that communicates back out to all people in Over-the-Rhine to challenge them to think about issues and hopefully to see the neighborhood in new ways!
I enjoyed the Zines and the different direction each issue took. For our next project I would like to incorporate public participation and commentary to the project itself. A public installment of sorts. Based on comments, it seems that a group of people are headed towards that direction.
ReplyDeleteI thought the alternative tour of the neighborhood was a great idea and I would like to see it happen. Regularly, large groups of people pass by our street touring the neighborhood. I think that offering recent history of the OTR is valuable information to have especially to new residents. I know that the tour books would be distributed in neighborhood shops, but why can’t they also be given out to new arrivals to the neighborhood in the mail?
I agree with some classmates that a public installation, walking map, or event of some sort would be most effective. Something that is more eye catching or interactive in my mind hasn't been done much before. I feel that a zine may not be as effective considering Streetvibes already includes alternative news and writing. Jenn is putting together an event that will feature the interviews we are recording. I feel like this is an example of the kind of project I'd like to work on.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in building some public art installations. I feel that there should be something interactive along Vine Street or Washington Park that engages pedestrians. I feel that my target audience would be the people that come to OTR solely for concerts in Washington Park or to eat at restaurants or bars on Vine Street. i feel that it is imperative to educate people that come here for entertainment how vital a mixed income community really is to the sustainability of the neighborhood and city as a whole. I feel that our project should be to highlight the importance of low-income housing, sustainable neighborhoods, and bringing economic classes together.
ReplyDeleteI liked the timeline and some of the magazines and brochures, but I feel like these were not really targeting the audience that needs to be educated about OTR's past and present struggles: the new class of young professionals. I feel as though some of the literature was one-sided, a lot of fuzzy pictures, and at times it was standoff-ish . In order to make both sides come together, there has to be valid education opportunities or no progress will be made.
ReplyDeleteSome sort of physically visible installation located in an area that is frequented by both new residents and old would have the greatest impact. As much as I am interesting in creating a well designed pamphlet filled with information about the benefits of a diverse neighborhood will not reach as wide of an audience. If it focuses on the positives, rather than bashing one side or the other, I think it will have longer lasting effects.
Do we have a budget for this project? If we printed zines or maps how many could we print with how much it costs for paper and ink? And if we did an installation would we just be making it out of recycled materials? I think we could use stuff from dumpsters and whatever we find. Doing something online like a movie would be cool, but I'm not sure if it would be as effective as we would want it to be. If we had unlimited money it would be cool to make a movie that we project on to the side of a building, but I'm sure that is unrealistic for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of my classmates that a public event would be most effective. We could incorporate public participation into the project this way. This could be a way for us to invite all members of the OTR community into one place at the same time. This could be a way for us to try and bridge the gap and get them together.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the comments, a public interactive installation would be a really cool way to get the message across. Although I did like the vine idea, I think that something more hands on would be more effective and memorable. I like the movie idea also, and I think projecting it on a building would be really neat. It would also be cool to have some sort of a public flash mob or something, that could involve the community and send out a really positive message.
ReplyDelete