Free Minds Project

Here’s a sneak preview of what we’ve got going for alumni this semester. All events are free and, unless otherwise noted, will take place at the Community Engagement Center (1009 E. 11th St. #216). A more detailed calendar should be available soon. We look forward to seeing you there!

TUES, JANUARY 31
American Indians and the American Imagination, 7 PM
A master class with Dr. Pauline Strong, UT Dept. of Anthropology

THURS, FEBRUARY 16
A Very Free Minds Valentine’s Day, 7 PM
A master class with Drs. Patricia Garcia and John Gonzalez, UT Dept. of English

WED, FEBRUARY 29
College Fair, 6:30 PM
Foundation Communities’ M Station Apartments (2906 E. MLK)

TUES, MARCH 20
Batsheva Dance Company, 8 PM
UT’s Bass Concert Hall (23rd and Trinity)

THURS, APRIL 5
Demystifying Math, 7 PM
A master class with Dr. Juan Molina, ACC Professor of Mathematics

TUES, APRIL 24
Celebrate National Poetry Month, 7 PM
A master class with Lyman Grant, ACC Dean of Arts and Humanities

“Art offers us an opportunity to slow down and look at things a little differently,” Annette Carlozzi, deputy director at the Blanton Museum, told Free Minds students when they toured the museum on January 19. It was a busy night, with groups taking in the last days of the striking exhibit, El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa.

Students had a unique chance to encounter the West African artist who is considered one of the preeminent of his generation. Using artifacts otherwise considered trash, including the aluminum caps of liquor bottles, Anatsui composes striking metal wall sculptures resembling tapestries of color and shape.

Standing before the large piece “The Stressed World,” Carlozzi encouraged students to trust their own responses when approaching art. “What do you see?” she asked.

Nelson Toala said, “The red and yellow colors suggest joy.” Debora Otera remarked, “It looks a dream catcher.” Several students noted that the open spaces in the sculpture suggested worn cloth.

“‘Oh, that makes me think of this’ is an absolutely relevant response,” Carlozzi said. “Art is a transaction. There’s so much more permission to interpret than people think.”

Upstairs, students and their children took their time with paintings and installations from the museum’s permanent collection. They approached each work of art with the conviction that they could discover something new in it.

As student Stacey Kennedy put it, “Art is for the community. You just got to go after it and not be afraid.”

We need volunteers at two different recruitment events this month:

Wednesday, January 25, 2-7pm, is the City of Austin and Travis County Community Job and Resource Expo, a one-stop shop for jobs, community services, volunteer opportunities, and networking opportunities (Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road).

Saturday, January 28, 10am-3pm, is the 6th annual Feria Para Aprender, a Spanish-language community and college fair held in North Austin (North Austin Event Center, 10601 N Lamar Blvd, 78753).

We (Vivé and Hana) will be there representing Free Minds, and we need a few students and alumni, especially Spanish speakers, to help us man the table for a few hours.

If you can help out at one of these events, we would really appreciate it! Email hana.silverstein @ austin.utexas. edu or call 232-6093.

Belinda Guzman ’08, a Free Minds alum and City of Austin employee, sent us word about a job and resource expo taking place later this month:

City of Austin and Travis County Community Job and Resource Expo

A one stop shop for:

• Jobs
• Career Development
• Community Services
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Networking Opportunities

Visit with more than 100 Human Resource professionals from the public, private and non-profit sectors and come away with tips and techniques for career opportunities. Free and open to the public.

Palmer Events Center
900 Barton Springs Road
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
2 to 7 p.m.

Free parking in the Palmer Events Center garage. Employers interested in participating call (512) 974-3221. For more information (512) 974-3210 | AustinTexas.gov.

The Alcalde, the alumni magazine of The University of Texas, just published a beautiful article about Free Minds that we think captures the spirit and purpose of the program: “Minds on Fire: What happens when disadvantaged adults learn to read Shakespeare and debate philosophy? How the Free Minds Project is changing lives through the humanities.” We couldn’t be prouder!

Also, be sure to check out the bonus feature: inspiring writings by student and alumni, “Voices of Free Minds.”

Fern Viking, a 2011 Free Minds graduate, joined our fall writing workshop to continue honing her creative writing skills and to meet other developing writers. “As with my Free Minds experience,” she says, “I have felt a sense of community with my classmates, a meeting of like-minded individuals who are very different from each other except for the love of writing and being creative.” Fern’s story “My Great Norwegian Adventure” is reproduced below:

My Great Norwegian Adventure

by Fern Viking

When I was almost 5 years old and my sister Mari-Lene just a toddler, my dad was laid off from work, so he and my mom decided to have a “creative holiday.” My father, a gifted artist always experimenting with unusual techniques, was at that time working on black canvas with oil crayons. He worked backwards i.e. using the black background as shade and shadows and the colors as highlights. The result was astounding.

We started our trip in Sandefjord, where my grandparents, aunts and uncles lived. There the men strategized our travel routes while the women cooked and saw to us little ones. My aunt Marilynn was only two years older than me, so we became running buddies. She taught  me Norwegian (through osmosis), how to negotiate the outhouse and how to have fun despite the eagle eyes of my Mamma and Mormer (Swedish/Norwegian terminology for mom and grandma). Aunt Anne-Marie was a beautiful, glamorous teen resembling Sophia Loren. She was way too busy with her friends to bother with all us little tykes. Uncle Lars and Jonny were equally aloof, except when they felt like teasing us or tossing us in the air.

Keep reading →

Our fall writing workshop at Foundation Communities’ Trails at Vintage Creek apartments wrapped up on December 6 with a reading of original works by the writers in the group. One woman shared an experience of racial self-awareness; another read a story about the time her pregnant mother had such a strong craving for turnips, she convinced her father to steal some. (Read this piece here!)

Workshop facilitator Alice Shukalo, a teacher of writing and rhetoric at UT, guided the writers through eight weeks of free-writing and feedback sessions. Every Tuesday evening, participants showed up to improve writing skills and express themselves in a supportive community. As writer Thelma Lee James put it, “A lot of people need this opportunity to share the creations of the mind.” Thelma, who also participated in the spring writing said she “had stopped writing so much, but when I came back to Free Minds, I began to realize how much fun it is, and how broad your mind can explore. It also keeps your mind activated with new ideas and energy to share with others.”

At 24, Jennifer Reyes is one of the youngest Free Minds students, but when she came to interview for a spot in the program in July, she said she had already waited too long to start college.

“The way my caseworker explained this program to me, it helps you get started, so you’re ready when you go to ACC,” Jennifer explained when AmeriCorps volunteer Hana Silverstein caught up with her midway through the semester. “I knew it would be hard work – but not actually being in class, you don’t really know. But once I started going, I liked every class.”

Jennifer has nearly perfect attendance. The only class she missed was the day she got her wisdom teeth pulled, a testament to how seriously she takes this opportunity. “I never thought I’d think that way about education,” she said. “I almost feel like a whole new person. Now I tell my friends, ‘Get your GED! Go do something. I’ll go with you.’ That was never me. I was never the one pushing anyone.”

History has been her favorite subject. Jennifer loved picking apart Samuel Huntington’s anti-immigration essay, “The Hispanic Challenge,” with Professor Neil Foley and learning about detention centers with guest speaker Andrea Black, director of the Detention Watch Network. “It changed my whole perspective about what I want to do in my life,” Jennifer said. “At first I wanted to do business administration, but now I want to do something that helps immigrants. Farther down the road, maybe I’ll find something else, but that opened my eyes and changed my mind.”

Just down the hall, Jennifer’s six-year-old daughter, Rosalie, participates in the Camp Fire USA program while Jennifer is in class. “She knows I’m in school, and she thinks it’s great. I’m like, yeah! You gotta keep going to school till you’re old and old and old!”

The University of Texas Shakespeare at Winedale program invites you to join us for a special “Playing Shakespeare” workshop for children on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to noon, on the UT campus. We will enjoy some “Winedale warmup” games, sing, and play Shakespeare!

The session is free of charge, but it would help us to know if you’re coming. To RSVP, simply email Winedale Outreach coordinator Clayton Stromberger at cstromberger@mail.utexas.edu or call Mr. Stromberger on his cell phone at 363-6864. Please leave a parent name, the child’s name, what school your child attends, who his or her teacher is, and a return phone number.

Once you RSVP, we will make sure you know how to find us.

Parents are welcome to attend and even participate. If you would like to drop off your child, we will need you to sign some legal release and medical forms before leaving.

Keep reading →

Stacey Kennedy, Free Minds ’12, and her son Richmond talk about their journey from homelessness to college: