Creative cities design institute:

Monday, July 22, 2023 - Friday, July 26, 2023

ART

Using the forms of drawing, coloring and writing, students created artwork reflecting their understanding of gateways and observations of the French Street Corridor. The students reflected on how a gateway both protects and promotes a community while also exploring their own understanding of what it means to protect and/or promote something of value. After making a site visit to different parts of the French Street Corridor to conduct research and record their observations, the students began work on their mural projects. Each student was responsible for designing a piece of the larger, collective mural, making sure to include what they wanted to protect and promote about the French Street Corridor. The individual pieces create one collective Gateway to the French Street Corridor mural. Each student also created a mural sketch and foam core gateway for a community of personal significance to them.

ADVOCACY

The advocacy theme this summer was “Protect and Promote.” The teaching artists introduced our student planners to socially engaged art and urban planning concepts connected to the theme. Jovanny Belisario, a Community Expert with New Brunswick Tomorrow, taught students about New Brunswick’s historic French Street Corridor. Students then visited four sites along the corridor: the Bayard and French Street Intersection, Latino Supermarket at Louis Street, Hospital at French Street, and C&C Pizza at Louis Street. In their final mural tiles, students advocated for specific things they wanted to protect and promote within the French Street Corridor.

COMMUNITY

Throughout the week, students considered the ways environment and urban design impact communities. Locally, they made direct connections to how the natural and built landscapes of the French Street Corridor impact their own community of New Brunswick. They also researched other national and global examples of gateways and socially engaged art. Through this research and the site visits they conducted, the students were able to consider how their work and design ideas could have an effect on the future of New Brunswick.