I just spent two and half years in school, working on my book and two plays. I finished all of them and my next goal is to publish everything. Grad school wasn’t something I was sure I wanted to do for an art, especially because you don’t really need a degree to produce art. I already published visual art, a book of poetry, and was an editor of an anthology. My work has been in small exhibitions and a couple of large ones. I didn’t go to school to be a radio host, but I still have a radio show and a podcast. I did have training as an anchor and tv show host in school. I was fortunate enough to have learned about broadcasting from my high school television production teacher, in R.O.P.. There were some high school programs, classes, and clubs that I was in that continue to give to me to this day. It’s not like how schools often are now. And the most difficult part for me to digest is that we weren’t even one of the good schools.
We had a lot of shootings and got frisked to get onto campus. You get the idea.
I believe education is important. You get a lot more than teachers who are willing to teach you how to read and do math. I learned about levers, inertia, physiology, acting, tv production, tv and newspaper journalism, how to ask questions, how to speak up for myself, and how to make friends. In college you network and develop lasting relationships. You get support to write the most difficult book of your life. Well, for me the second book was much harder than the first, so school was definitely where I wanted to be. And I found the place that would nurture me, as I poured my darkest secrets into poems. I also found a way to laugh and how to be funny again.
Now I have stories, art, and education to share. And I’m going to find a way to share them in many forms. Starting with free community art workshops. I love building community and creating equitable and inclusive opportunities that take diverse and multicultural approaches to inform and educate.
Yes, I also have to eat and pay bills, but the paid for workshops are generally with schools. I will also be teaching online and in person writing workshops in the future. I will release those dates and times soon.
If you don’t know of my community outreach work, I founded a group called the IE Hope Collective. I and several other volunteers teach empathy, introspection, and community building through the arts to disadvantaged youth and young adults. I have taught in foster youth group homes, foster youth programs in community colleges and universities, mental health facilities, refugee camps, juvenile hall, shelters, bookshops, art centers, art museums, after school programs, etc. I have taught homeless LGBTQ2S+, refugee, foster, disabled youth, etc. I commonly teach yoga with self-care in my workshops, because I have certifications in massage therapy and yoga. I also have a background in psychology, child psychology, and child development so I teach youth and young adults techniques to care for their bodies, restorative yoga with massage, meditation, and wellness techniques.
You can find out more about the IE Hope Collective here:
https://www.byginaduran.org/outreach
I do plan on expanding my practice for adults again soon, but let’s start back up with community art projects. The first event will be in January 11th,1-3pm, at Nervous Ghost Press. More details to come soon.
I’ll be open to questions once I post the event flyer.
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