Welcome to one of Working Playground's Network Artspace blogs!

"Dedication" by JHS Afterschool, 2007




This blog is part of an afterschool Music Production My New York model program at Heritage High School. We meet twice a week on Mondays and Fridays in the heart of El Barrio. The class is guided by a Foundation Statement, which seeks to explore an essential question that grounds our artistic work;

"(Not) My New York" -
Music Production with Sam Sellers

Uptown/Downtown. Mets/Yankees.
Tenements/Condominiums. Cabs/Trains.
Briefcases/Brooms. Grafitti/Guggeneheim.
Grannies/Nannies.

How many opposing forces can you think of on the planet NYC?

The basic question might revolve around "my New York." But a large part of self-realization is found in gaining insight into the world of "others." Our goal will be locate our cultural, political and social positions and juxtapose them with what we're not. Through the craft of Spoken Word we will write and perform poetry, take it to the stage and the streets, become notetakers on life and visit the disparate worlds that co-exist in this city. We will also be responsible for organizing, promoting and producing all of this year's New Design Poetry Slams.

Find out where "Your NY" fits into the jigsaw puzzle of cityscape.