Haiku for Lower East Side History Month!
May is Lower East Side History Month, and to that end a host of chalking activity was occurring on the opening weekend due to #chalkLES, a multi-organization effort to write historical tidbits on the streets of the Lower East Side. The organizer of #chalkLES (and generally amazing LES mover-and-shaker), Ryan Gilliam, invited Guerilla Haiku to add some more chalkdust to the scene. To which we resoundingly said YES! On the eve of our Saturday frolics, I decorated my beloved Tenement Museum with haiku inspired by its work and mission. But the day truly began in Seward Park where the melting pot...
Read MoreFirst GHM Event hosted by Celeste in McAllen, TX!
Here are Celeste’s reflections on her experiences: The day of the event, I was nervous, but excited. My event started at 11, so I got to the meeting place at 10:30. At 11 people started showing up, and at 11:30 I said an opening speech that explained how the event will carry out. All 3 adult advocates showed up, but only 6 out of the 15 people who committed to coming actually showed up, so I made 2 teams of 6 out of the people who did come, and I included myself in one of the teams. We had an hour and a half to write haikus; at 1:30 we met back at the cafe. Teams chose their...
Read MoreCeleste G.: A Day in the Life
Agent Celeste takes us through a typical day at her school in McAllen, TX, and her reasons for doing a Guerilla Haiku program in her community: My alarm beeps to wake me up in the morning and I lazily shut it off. I wake up 30 minutes later and jump out of bed, knowing I’m probably still going to be late to school. I wake up my sisters, get ready, and eat a quick microwaveable breakfast. By the time I get to school, I’m rushing to get there on time. As I get to school, I try to remember whether its an A or B day. I remember its an A Day, so I make my...
Read MoreIntroducing Celeste!
After Guerilla Haiku’s experience last year in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, we were approached by a student from the area who wanted to conduct a Guerilla Haiku event to unite area youth. She has been working with the Haiku Mistress to organize her own Guerilla Haiku style event, scheduled for mid-February. We are so excited for her to implement this event! Here is our newest Agent of Haiku introducing herself in her own words: Hi there! My name is Celeste and I am 15 years old. I love to listen to music and read in my free time. I live in the Rio Grande Valley, which is in...
Read MoreGuerilla Haiku’s San Antonian Residency!!
Artpace is an organization committed to bringing excellent local, national and international artists to San Antonio and giving them space and resources to create new work in the city (and engage the community in their process). They also organize one of the most ambitious community engagement efforts I have yet to experience: Chalk It Up, San Antonio. In this one-day-only event, tens of thousands of San Antonians come together to chalk up one of their major downtown streets. Artists make murals, teams from local schools and organizations create team pieces and everyone is invited to add to...
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