Vernon Central Murals

Community Inquiry Project Shauna, Whitney and Yvette IMPACT 2014

Assets Around Quincy Jones Elementary

Institutions:
USC Shrine Auditorium Police Department Fire Department Factories Coca-Cola Churches A Place Called Home Clinics CIP Vernon Central Wikimap http://www.healthycity.o rg/wikimap/vm/cip_ver non_central

Community
Art in the form of graffiti and murals Strong connected families Supporting staff at actual schools

Conversations with locals

Who? Ms. V (lives in the neighborhood and has worked in many of the schools in the area.)

Question asked:
What do you think about the murals in the neighborhood?

"Many people look at murals and have a negative perspective because they think it's gang related. I don't think that about the murals around the neighborhood. It's just art."

Conversations with the Principal

SWY: What are your thoughts on the current graffiti/murals around the neighborhood?

SV: I think murals are great assets to the community and add a cultural aspect to it that you dont see in other places. Tagging is an issue because it signifies that gangs are claiming a territory. Tagging is very different than murals or public displays of art. SWY: What is the difference?
SV: You will notice that typically they will spell words backwards or that there is not a lot of coloring as you see in murals or graffiti.

Conversations with the Principal

SWY: We understand that tagging has been an issue in the past. How might one stop this from happening on school grounds? SV: I am very involved with the community and most of the time I am able to find out who is tagging. These new taggers are typically drug dealers.

SWY: Really? What did you say to the tagger? I basically had a conversation with him in terms of empathy. I explained to him that the tagging was upsetting the kids and that seemed to get through because he had nieces and nephews that go to the school.

Community Walk
Textile industry, many factories nearby surround the area Police Department/Fire Department a few blocks away from the school Non-Profit Organization nearby: A Place Called Home (www.apch.org) About: A Place Called Home is a dynamic, non-profit youth center located in South Central Los Angeles. Mission: to provide at-risk youth with a secure, positive family environment where they can regain hope and belief, earn trust and self-respect and learn skills to lead to a productive lifestyle free of the gangs, drugs and poverty that surround them. We help inner city youth find their dreams through educational enrichment. grafitti

Community Walk
Several nearby churches/ places of worship Animal friendly- stray dogs, roasters for neighbors Free clinics

Music was huge in the 20s/30s (Jazz town)

Library not that close in distance

Murals/Public Displays of Art/Graffiti

There are numerous murals/graffiti in the surrounding neighborhood Alleys, businesses, etc. Religious affiliation, sense of pride in Catholicism Images of the Virgin Maria de Guadalupe Many businesses use murals as advertisements Ex: Laundry facility had artwork of bubbles and foam on the exterior of their building

Internet Search
Community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. For the purpose of this project we are focusing on the cultural assets of artwork through murals that brings a unique characteristic to this community.

Internet Search
According to my internet search we found that this neighborhood has a rich history of community centered around music... From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African-American community in Los Angeles, with active Rhythm and Blues and Jazz music scenes. Local luminaries included Eric Dolphy, Art Pepper, Chico Hamilton, and Charles Mingus. Other jazz and R&B musicians associated with Central Avenue in LA include Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Dexter Gordon, Lionel Hampton, Hampton Hawes, Big Jay McNeely,Johnny Otis, Shifty Henry, Charlie Parker (briefly), Gerald Wilson and Teddy Wilson. Commenting on its historical prominence, Wynton Marsallis once remarked that "Central Avenue was the 52nd Street of Los Angeles."[3] Although Central Avenue is no longer the thriving jazz center it was, its legacy is preserved by the Central Avenue Jazz Festival and a small number of jazz clubs, including 2nd Street Jazz in Little Tokyo. Lionel Hampton composed and performed a tune called "Central Avenue Breakdown". Dave Alvin's tribute to Big Joe Turner, "The Boss of the Blues", describes a drive down Central Avenue and Turner's reminiscences about the scene.

Additional Links
http://www.ovationtv.com/treasure-maps-forpublic-art

http://sparcinla.org
http://muralconservancy.org

http://icuart.com/com-murals/cra-la/
http://eaglerock.patch.com/search?keywords=mu ral+community

Journal Article
Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth, Tara Yosso

Mapping the assets of your community, L.J. Beaulieu

Beyond the bake sale, How do you know if you are ready for partnership? Anne Henderson and Karen Mapp A new approach to culture in education, L.C. Moll The pedagogy of poverty versus good teaching, M. Haberman

Action Plan Agenda

Action Plan
Talk to Mr. Venz about the Quincy Jones jazz festival Determine if jazz festival would be a good place for an art booth Create temporary art pieces with students Hang murals in the hallway/stairwell

Murals