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March 2010 news
KIDSKC 2010
Chameleon finished its first round of programming with the Office of Homeless Liaison of Kansas City Kansas facilitated at the Westport Roanoke Community Center. These homeless students spent 4 sessions learning ceramics and building coil, slab pots and making al kinds of fun forms from masks to pendants. On March 6th they began the second session of programming at Brush Creek Community Center with teachers from the Hip Hop Academy, focused on poetry, dance and visual arts. The next class is March 27th at Brush Creek. We invite you to stop by and check out our amazing arts and youth development programming.
Green Day Festivals and The Fundreds Project
Chameleon has been working with StoneLion Theatre, Bridging the Gap and other environmental agencies to facilitate mini environmental arts and performance programs at inner city community centers, and we are facilitating the national Fundred Project, originated by artist Mel Chin, in the Kansas City area. The Fundred Dollar Bill Project is raising nationwide awareness of the environmental threat of lead poisoning. Students and community members across the country are currently creating Fundred Dollar Bills–original, hand-drawn interpretations of $100 bills. Completed Fundred artworks are sent to regional collection centers, like Chameleon, that are securely holding the valuable drawings. The project will collect at least 3 million Fundreds, or the equivalent of $300 million, and attempt to exchange the creative capital for an appropriation bill in congress to make the soil in New Orleans lead safe. Chameleon has facilitated Fundreds events at the Leedy Voulkos Art Center, YWCA Kansas City Kansas, Roanoke Community Center,
Marlbourgh Community Center, Paseo High School, Notre Dame Sion, Kansas City Art Institute, Arts Incubator and Synergy Services Youth Resiliency Center. Chameleon Fundred events allow people not only to express themselves but also to discuss environmental issues and learn about how gardens can help clean up toxins in the soil of America’s cities. Chameleon has collected over 2000 Fundred bills for the project! If you are interested in hosting a Fundred event, contact Hugh Merrill/Chameleon at 816-686-8626 to get involved in this important national arts project.
Chameleon is working with the Community Arts and Service Learning Program at the Kansas City Art Institute to develop portable arts installations and actions that teach people about water pollution and related environmental problems. Eco Oceans: A Game is a series of 8 graphic pools adhered to rubber mats that are easily movable. Each pool represents a stage in the pollution our oceans and lakes, progressively moving from clean water to an ocean of sludge and detritus. Each community works with Chameleon artists to invent a game to use the pools to teach their community about the dangers of water pollution and ways of preventing damage to our oceans, lakes and rivers. The pools have been used as an environmental cakewalk, fishing and casting game with prizes and for relay races. The pools and other features will be performed at the Earth Walk with StoneLion Puppet Theatre and Bridging the Gap at Theis Park April 11, 10pm-3pm.