Saying Something: Stencil Bomb, Nov. 16, 2016.

Yesterday we stencil-bombed the hallways in front of the School's main office and the Library with spray chalk, and made a beautiful and articulate mess. The action had received permission in advance, but we still managed to draw complaints and raise the anxiety levels of some. I was more struck, however, by the shared thrill of empowerment that the students communicated when we reflected afterwards on our experience/performance of 'vandalizing' the school.

Reading - We Are the Qayqayt

Qayqayt Visit: Chief Rhonda Larabee 

Students gathered in the NWSS Library to listen to Chief Larabee speak about the Qayqayt and her experiences in achieving recognition for the Qayqayt First Nation. 

Rhonda Larabee addressing Site Stories students about the history of the Qayqayt in New Westminster. Her story is one of reclaiming identity and discovering your roots. Chief Larabee explains to students why there is not a 'land base' for the Qayqayt and how this has affected their ability to maintain a 'presence; in New Westminster.  She spoke also about the possibility of Chief Ahan being buried on site at NWSS. Through more education students will begin to know and understand the Qayqayt Nation. 

Aboriginal Education Director at SD40, Bertha Landsdowne, and Chief Rhonda Larabee
discuss some of their shared knowledge and experiences. 

Students are asked to come up and join Chief Larabee when they ask a questions; Brett asked about the significance of the Eagle feather and got a first hand lesson. 

Chief Larabee explained that Eagle feathers are gifts, and should be cherished. As we cannot 'harvest' them, they have to come to us, and contain a great deal of wisdom and guidance. 

Tactile experiences and storytelling: two ways of learning that are fundamental in First Nations culture. Site Stories students are learning how to access various ways of knowing through this project. 

Sound Mapping with Alex

On Wednesday, Ms Simpson's class held their second sound session with guest artist Alex Spence. Building on their explorations in listening, students started recording and building their own sound maps of NWSS.

Week 7: Time to get to work

Mladen Stilinovic, The Artist at Work, 1977.

Today we engaged in a collective reading exercise. In unison (more or less) we all read from this excerpt from Mladen Stilinovic's In Praise of Laziness. This took place as part of a broader discussion about creative processes and what they might look like and involve.

"Laziness is the absence of movement and thought, dumb time - total amnesia. It is also indifference, staring at nothing, non-activity, impotence. It is sheer stupidity, a time of pain, futile concentration. Those virtues of laziness are important factors in art. Knowing about laziness is not enough, it must be practiced and perfected. Artists in the West are not lazy and therefore not artists but rather producers of something... Their involvement with matters of no importance, such as production, promotion, gallery system, museum system, competition system (who is first), their preoccupation with objects, all that drives them away from laziness, from art. Just as money is paper, so a gallery is a room."