This year’s trip to the Be the Change Youth Convergence at Koinonia farms was an exciting endeavor. The event is sponsored by the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition and each year we choose an issue or cause and unite in a joint state action to make a difference. This year’s (2010) topic centered on Public Education. From budget cuts to the simple right to be educated, Georgia’s Peace and Justice Coalition has united with A.A.C. and others to tackle the cause and make a difference.

Art as an Agent for Change will be in charge of the Art portion of the campaign and we are ready to get the ball rolling. But most importantly, we hope you’re ready to join the campaign and Shut it Down! Stay tuned to find out how you can get involved and what you can do to make a difference.

Always Shuttin’ it Down,

A.A.C. Out!

True art speaks to your heart, and it inspires you to make a change in your community.

A GCSU associate professor of art, Valerie Aranda, and a few of her dedicated students have used art as an agent for change. As a part of the Bridges Peacejam Youth Conference, Memphis youth together with GCSU students created a mural that helped sow the seeds of change for one Memphis Community.

The Mural project was inspired by a tragedy that occurred in the Memphis Community of Lester, when a young man named, Jessie Dotson allegedly went on a shooting rampage. The results of the incident had only yielded six counts of first degree murder until the Memphis Youth and GCSU students took the initiative to heal the scars of this tragedy.

Under Aranda’s leadership, GCSU students, Jessica Peet, Tempestt Jackson, Anne Humphreys, Gabby Caraballo, Karla Leggat and Julia Allen assisted a group of Memphis youth in creating at 60 feet long and 11 feet high mural that stands proudly in the cafeteria of Lester Elementary School.

Aranda comments, “This mass murder left a heavy scar on the Lester Middle School community, and it seems that the creation of this mural has restored the morale of the community,”

The Peacejam youth have taken action against violence, and they used art as their vehicle for change. While this was a life changing, emotional experience, the journey was not complete for Aranda, her students, and the Memphis Youth. Aranda and her students returned to Memphis March 19 – 24, to assist the Peacejam youth in completing their artistic call to action.

As the Peacejam youth’s murals serves as a reminder to break the cycle of violence, we at A.A.C. encourage you to get involved in your community. There is no time like the present to SHUT IT DOWN!

Article Written by
Rochelle Smalls
Edited by Paul Ayo

True art speaks to your heart, and it inspires you to make a change in your community.

A GCSU associate professor of art, Valerie Aranda, and a few of her dedicated students have used art as an agent for change. As a part of the Bridges Peacejam Youth Conference, Memphis youth together with GCSU students created a mural that helped sow the seeds of change for one Memphis Community.

The Mural project was inspired by a tragedy that occurred in the Memphis Community of Lester, when a young man named, Jessie Dotson allegedly went on a shooting rampage. The results of the incident had only yielded six counts of first degree murder until the Memphis Youth and GCSU students took the initiative to heal the scars of this tragedy.

Under Aranda’s leadership, GCSU students, Jessica Peet, Tempestt Jackson, Anne Humphreys, Gabby Caraballo, Karla Leggat and Julia Allen assisted a group of Memphis youth in creating at 60 feet long and 11 feet high mural that stands proudly in the cafeteria of Lester Elementary School.

Aranda comments, “This mass murder left a heavy scar on the Lester Middle School community, and it seems that the creation of this mural has restored the morale of the community,”

The Peacejam youth have taken action against violence, and they used art as their vehicle for change. While this was a life changing, emotional experience, the journey was not complete for Aranda, her students, and the Memphis Youth. Aranda and her students returned to Memphis March 19 – 24, to assist the Peacejam youth in completing their artistic call to action.

As the Peacejam youth’s murals serves as a reminder to break the cycle of violence, we at A.A.C. encourage you to get involved in your community. There is no time like the present to SHUT IT DOWN!

Article Written by
Rochelle Smalls
Edited by Paul Ayo

Once a month A.A.C. hosts a poetry jam at Blackbird coffee in Milledgeville, Ga. Our most recent feature poet was Life, a dynamic poet from Athens, GA. by way of Brooklyn NY. Check out his poem “Numerical Prison.” For more info about Life visit http://www.myspace.com/lionslifecom

Once a month A.A.C. hosts a poetry jam at Blackbird coffee in Milledgeville, Ga. Our most recent feature poet was Life, a dynamic poet from Athens, GA. by way of Brooklyn NY. Check out his poem “Numerical Prison.” For more info about Life visit http://www.myspace.com/lionslifecom

A.A.C.’s Founder Paul Ayo performs his new piece “Melanin in the Sun” at Magnifying the Moment in Milledgeville, GA. Check this one out.

A.A.C.’s Founder Paul Ayo performs his new piece “Melanin in the Sun” at Magnifying the Moment in Milledgeville, GA. Check this one out.

The mission to educate, inspire, and entertain is climbing to new heights in 2010.

What’s in store?

A.A.C. is kicking off the year with a visit to Augusta, Ga.’s MLK Day Parade and a visit to an MLK Day of Service event at the Lyndon House Art Center hosted by William Montu Miller in Athens, Ga.

January 20, 2010, we’ll host our first Open Mic Poetry Jam at Blackbird Coffee, Milledgeville. The evening will feature poet extraordinaire Al Corum headlining the poetic line-up.

In February, we’ll give you a double dose of feature poetry nights with the Poet/Activist, Life, author of the book, The Tree of Life. The double dose will finish up with a special guest poet that is guaranteed to stimulate your poetic juices.

We’ve also chosen February as the month for our Worth a Thousand Words Campaign. GCSU Students, Faculty, Staff, or anyone who is interested will be asked to take a picture with someone they don’t know, write a caption for the photo, and send it to us at A.A.C. The person who takes the winning photo will receive $50.00 and the photos will be presented at an exhibition March 15, 2010.

And speaking of March, March 17 we will host The Brawl, Milledgeville’s first team Poetry Slam at Blackbird Coffee. All proceeds from the event will go to the School for School’s chapter at GCSU.

And last but not least, the finale!

The Poetic Notions Youth Poetry slam will be returning to Milledgeville, bringing you Middle Georgia’s finest teen poets. And the event you’ve all been waiting for, Poetic Notions 2010 will close out the season of change with a feature line up guaranteed to leave you breathless.

We look forward to shutting your city down!!!

The mission to educate, inspire, and entertain is climbing to new heights in 2010.

What’s in store?

A.A.C. is kicking off the year with a visit to Augusta, Ga.’s MLK Day Parade and a visit to an MLK Day of Service event at the Lyndon House Art Center hosted by William Montu Miller in Athens, Ga.

January 20, 2010, we’ll host our first Open Mic Poetry Jam at Blackbird Coffee, Milledgeville. The evening will feature poet extraordinaire Al Corum headlining the poetic line-up.

In February, we’ll give you a double dose of feature poetry nights with the Poet/Activist, Life, author of the book, The Tree of Life. The double dose will finish up with a special guest poet that is guaranteed to stimulate your poetic juices.

We’ve also chosen February as the month for our Worth a Thousand Words Campaign. GCSU Students, Faculty, Staff, or anyone who is interested will be asked to take a picture with someone they don’t know, write a caption for the photo, and send it to us at A.A.C. The person who takes the winning photo will receive $50.00 and the photos will be presented at an exhibition March 15, 2010.

And speaking of March, March 17 we will host The Brawl, Milledgeville’s first team Poetry Slam at Blackbird Coffee. All proceeds from the event will go to the School for School’s chapter at GCSU.

And last but not least, the finale!

The Poetic Notions Youth Poetry slam will be returning to Milledgeville, bringing you Middle Georgia’s finest teen poets. And the event you’ve all been waiting for, Poetic Notions 2010 will close out the season of change with a feature line up guaranteed to leave you breathless.

We look forward to shutting your city down!!!

Of course you know, Art as an Agent for Change works its hardest to bring you the best Art for Change in the world. To do this in a more convenient and less confusing way, we bring you our new blog address, A.A.C. Shutdown. We’ll be posting new stories about our endeavors and covering the work of other artists who are reshaping the world just like us. So, subscribe today and stay updated on our collective quest to make this world a better place. Art– it’s what you make out of this crazy world!