Register: https://bit.ly/theartofjustice-workshop3

The LA Lee Mizell YMCA Community Center and Niki Lopez of What’s Your Elephant present “The Art of Justice: Art-Making as Catalyst for Social Justice and Collective Action” an art-making series that features social justice-themed presentations, artist-led workshops across literary, visual, and performing arts, and culminating showcases that highlight the work created in the workshops while encouraging critical conversations about access, advocacy, agency, and collective action. This series will run from July 2021 – January 2022.
Workshop: Thursday, September 16; 6:30 – 8:30 PM
The artist leading art-making workshop & discussion: Adejare A. McMillan, author & poet
Special guest: Cathleen Dean, filmmaker/producer and Directory of Arts and Theatre Performance for the L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center

Advocacy: Skills to effect change
Advocacy is a deliberate process of influencing outcomes so that change can occur. It is necessary to be aware of a problem in order to develop a variety of approaches to create equitable advancement for the entire community. Developing the skills to successfully advocate for oneself or on behalf of others involves awareness, analysis of the different elements, and their impact on the whole. Following analysis, purposeful action plans must be designed to create a message, a way to express the message, and address the target audience. Individual and group advocacy can create a path to equity.
Supplies needed to participate in art-making:

Pen, pencil
Paper
Scissors

To be included in the virtual showcase:
There will be a virtual showcase Saturday, August 28; 1- 3 PM. We will showcase completed work, have a featured performing artist and other art. To be included:

Take a photo of the completed art piece
Email with with name

Zoom/Facebook live (https://www.facebook.com/nikilopezcreative)
About Adejare A. McMillan (Author + Poet)
Combining Transformative Justice Practices with Clinical Counseling Techniques, Adejare (Ah-Day-Jah-Ray) McMillan, is professionally known as The Transformative Justice Therapist. This South Florida-based speaker, poet, & activist is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Family Therapy at NSU and specializes in Race and Equity, Sexuality, Addictions, and Men’s Issues.
About special guest Cathleen Dean
(Filmmaker + Producer + Directory of Arts and Theatre Performance for the L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center)
Cathleen Dean is an American film director, producer, and photographer who creates innovative work inspired by her experiences in South Florida. Dean captivates audiences by bringing her characters to life. She approaches her work from an anthropological point of view, aiming to uncover historical truths that have been lost, forgotten, or hidden with time. Dean is the Directory of Arts and Theatre Performance for the L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center. She is most famous for her films Wade in the Water: Drowning in Racism, Being, and Runway Afrique. She has received multiple awards such as Suncoast Emmy, Sistrunk Artist in Residence(AIR), Roxbury Film Festival Best Documentary Short 2021, Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival Best Short Film Being 2019, Happy to be Nappy Cinemaslam Best use of archival footage (2019), Miami Fashion Film Festival Best Fashion Doc Runway Afrique. Her films will resonate throughout time in audiences’ hearts.
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There will be 4 Social Justice 'lenses' in this series. Each lens will have:

1 Day: art-making workshop day & community conversation centered on that lens.
1 Day: a showcase of work from the workshop, art from artists, open mic, community dialogue, featured performance artist
This series will culminate in January 2022 with some of the works from each lens, performances.

More info: https://whatsyourelephant.org/theartofjustice
Support for this project has been provided by the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Oakland Park Woman’s Club, David and Francie Horvitz Family Fund, Ann Adams Fund and the Mary and Alex Mackenzie Impact Fund.