Direct Message
Direct Message.teen art exhibition
Direct Message
Thas it, right there
That goin' be the name, direct message right there
Box that one, that's the name
Hashtag
Who like Direct Message? Raise yo hand!
How you goin' say it?
Black lives matter
Cuz look, we got a message, and it's gonna be direct
We sendin' a message to show how people can come together and work on a project and get it done
There we go, yeah!
It's a direct message to society of the misconception that they have on us young black minorities
Exhibition was on display at Madison's Central Library, May-August 2016. [SEE MAP]
- Daytime: larger than life power pose exhibit outside of the main entrance.
- Nighttime: shadow projection show on the outside of the 2nd Floor windows, above the main entrance.
- Listen to Faisal Abdu'Allah discuss the project on Madison's local WORT 8 O'CLOCK BUZZ.
Direct Message was an exhibit created by teens through Madison Public Library's Bubbler program, which tapped community resources to foster this 15-week project in hands-on, peer-supported learning and digital literacy. Bubbler teens were addressing the nation's widest black/white educational opportunity gap and highest per capita black juvenile arrest and incarceration rate in Dane County, Wisconsin, with this semester-long project allowing them to explore and redefine their own public image.
Thank you FAISAL ABDU'ALLAH and the many other artists, educators and activists who have made this exhibit possible, including:
Johanna Boyle Rob Dz Kay DeWaide Matt Feifarek Institute of Museum and Library Services Dana Johnson Richard Jones Just Bakery Madison Graphics Claire Mason Morgridge Center for Public Service Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Nazka Serrano Meg Sill UW-Madison School of Library & Information Studies Manon van de Water Albert Watson Jeremy Wineberg Orion WellsI’m unique. I can draw. I can write. I can speak. I’m a little nervous about what people will think. I want people to know that there’s different people. Teens should have a place in the library.
Tie, Picasso
Brown paper silhouette, Picasso
Choreographing silhouettes with Faisal Abdu'Allah
Catching the light
Picasso says:
I can draw. I can write. I can speak.