Image via Land of a Gazillion Adoptees.
Tens of thousands of adoptees call Minnesota home, and for those in their teens and college years, coming to understand their identity and being able to express themselves is an integral aspect of their lives. Unfortunately, resources designed specifically for individuals who identify as adoptees are not readily available, even for the Twin Cities state.
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To provide that artistic medium, COMPAS, a St. Paul-based arts organization, Land of a Gazillion Adoptees (LGA), and spoken-word artist Kyle Tran Myhre, aka Guante, have teamed up to develop Creating Home, a program that looks to connect young adoptees with world-class artists through interactive workshops and even performance opportunities. The program’s Kickstarter, which has 24 days left to go, will go towards funding a three-month pilot project where teen and college age adoptee participants will have access to the tools and resources to tell their stories and express themselves through whatever artistic medium they choose.
Creating Home will kick off with a string of performances by young artists and locally and nationally recognized artists, including a few of the mentors. Kyle Tran Myhre, a two-time National Poetry Slam champion, will then lead the series of workshops, which will have faculty and guest artists who will work directly with the participants in structured lessons, as well as provide open space for them to create on their own.
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Participants will also have various opportunities to showcase their work. Gazillion Voices, LGA’s online magazine, will feature photography and video projects, while other work may find outlets in art galleries and theaters.
At the end of the program, participants will show their finished work in a final exhibition in front of their family, friends and community. Their work will then be published in an online and print book, with proceeds from sales going back into Creating Home, with the hope that the program can eventually become a statewide and national program.
