Providence ¡CityArts!

Just last year I was introducing our amazing new Resident Teaching Artists, roaring and ready to kick off a great year of CityArts programming. But today it seems like it was not too long ago that we welcomed them into the organization where they not only taught but inspired and made deep connections with students throughout the year. We are sad to see them go but even prouder of what they’ve accomplished and what they are moving on to do. 

Ambuja Magaji came to CityArts as a seasoned abstract film and video artist. She taught her first class in basic sewing last fall to a very large and roudy group of 8-10 year olds. The students made pillows, which were exhibited at the United Way of Rhode Island and then donated to Crossroads RI. She then moved on to teach an older group of children experimental photography and an abstract form of printmaking called collography. After leading some workshops in crafts and murals during our February and April vacations, she taught a class on drawn and cut paper animation this past spring that created some really beautiful and quite hilarious movies using different techniques. She is returning as a Visiting Teaching Artist this Summer as a digital photography teacher and then taking a break to have her first child!

Rebecca Volynsky came to CityArts with a strong knowledge of mixed media and book arts. Her first class introduced bookmaking to students 11-14 years old. The book installations were displayed at the United Way and then donated to the Mount Hope Learning Center. She later moved on to teaching a stop motion animation class with an environmental message. After an adorable alien making class and outdoor installation workshop for February and April Vacation weeks, Rebecca constructed a mixed media course dedicated to the process of being a conceptual artist rather than the finished product. Her students created beautiful self portraits that were displayed at AS220. Rebecca is returning this summer as a Visiting Teaching Artist to teach an Introduction to Printmaking class. She is then finishing her undergraduate degree at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Wendy Schreiner arrived at CityArts as a graphic designer with an already intense passion for teaching and a captivating rapport with children. Her first course was a hybrid of both printmaking and machine sewing as she taught her first set of students how to sew and print their own scarves and then sew mittens to donate to Amos House. The class contributed to a HUGE scarf installation also displayed at the United Way of Rhode Island. In the winter she taught a course that looked to poetry for inspiration as the children printed, letter pressed and made books about what they’ve learned. She lead a phenomenal interpretive dance workshop as well as a recycled materials book making class during February and April Vacation weeks. In the spring she taught 15 excited girls the fundamentals of color, drafting and shape for fashion and textile design. Wendy is beginning her MAT at the Rhode Island School of Design this summer as she hopes to be a full fledged K-12 public art educator this time in 2011!

All of our RTA’s contributed greatly as Teaching Assistants to the Art Teachers of Highlander Charter School and the Learning Community in Central Falls. 

They will be missed greatly but we wish them the best for the years to come!