A Pieceable Kingdom & Canal Street Market : March 17, 2018

Canal Street Market

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On their last Saturday before their break, the Sophomore Scholars excitedly visited Camille Hoffman’s exhibit, Pieceable Kingdom, at the Museum of Arts and Design. Hoffman graduated from California College of the Arts as well as Yale School of Art and is of Jewish and Filipino descent. She extensively uses her background and experience to create works that engage with unconventional materials such as chicken wire, table cloths and collage. Her theme for Pieceable Kingdom revolves around the “histories of race, gender, and power [that] are often embedded within influential American landscape paintings of the nineteenth century through their depictions of light, nature, the frontier, and borders.” The students quickly pointed out certain cultural references in Hoffman’s pieces, such as Dora, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and Moana. Camille talked about her work to the class and answered multiple questions the Sophomores had about her work, especially how she was able to conceive her ideas and her technique.

The Juniors spent their afternoon in SAT Prep class, followed by a brief workshop of college essay writing facilitated by Youth Advocates, Sophia Mak and Elizabeth Peralta.  College Mentor, Ashley Caba, shares some of her thoughts on the program:

“I believe that entering senior year with a set mind to what colleges you want to get into is ideal. You will enter senior year with a prepared mind and set goals to get into your dream school, and that is not always the case. I just think everyone has to give it their all in order to get into the college of your choosing. The juniors will also feel a stress relief when it comes to the essay portion of the college process, which is one of the biggest steps. Working on your college essay will only make the writing greater and the person who will end up reading it will see it too. The program does its best to prepare the scholars for the future and upcoming important situations that they will face in school. School is a struggle and we all need that push or helping hand. The pre college program at Parsons is that support system you need to make it”.

The Senior Scholars went to Canal Street Market in the morning during Capstone class, where they had a chance to interview Asian-identified Chinatown residents and business owners about the gentrification of Chinatown. They split into three groups, each with 3 people. Every scholar had a specific role: a note taker/ time keeper, documenter, and the interviewer. They will use quotes from the interviews in order to create banners for their final senior capstone project. The afternoon was spent going over strategies for financial aid award letter appeals, led by Nadia Williams, and capped off with an ice-cream treat to start off their break!