Fall 2022 Programs
WordPlay's fall workshops immerse children and teens in multi-disciplinary creative experiences, giving them the space to read, write, create and connect with peers from around the city. Thanks to the generosity of WordPlay's supporters, these workshops are free to families. All programs begin the week of 10/3 and run for six weeks unless otherwise noted.
Seeds for Change Mural Project
in partnership with Jeni Jenkins of Renegade Babe Studio & Nest Northside
Ages 14 & Up
October 8, 12, 15, 19, 22
1-5 Saturdays, 4-6pm Evenings
*email amy@wordplaycincy.org to register*
In person, outside in Northside
Are you a teen interested in learning how to paint a mural? Do you want to help combat Racism in our city? Would you like to help plant seeds for social change and create a legacy for future generations? Join us as we create a powerful mural nurturing pride in our community’s belief that Black lives matter, and Black lives are valued. All participants will participate in hands-on mural installation.
Project Goals:
· Bring increased visibility to and humanize Black identity
· Foster a sense of safety and a sense of belonging
· Energize a public space
· Incite community dialogue
· Add increased richness to the Northside community and Cincinnati
Creating Your Children’s Book!
with Hillary Hahn
Ages 14-Adult
Tuesdays, 5:30-7 pm
October 4th-November 8th
FREE
Let’s learn how to create a children’s book: from conceptualizing the story to getting creative with illustrations to building a website and selling your first copy! This workshop will not only support students with creative expression through story, but help develop their digital independence online. I’m happy to answer all questions and share my own process in this intimate six-week course!
Voices
with Yalie Saweda Kamara
Ages 14-19
Wednesdays, 4:00-5:30 pm
October 12th-November 9th
FREE
WordPlay welcomes high schoolers to participate in Voices, a multiweek poetry workshop that explores and celebrates the unique perspectives and experiences of its participants. Throughout the course of the workshop, attendees will have opportunities to: learn about the history of performance and written poetic traditions; create poetry in a supportive environment; receive performance poetry guidance; and share their writing publicly.
One Journal, Many Possibilities!
with Kellz
Ages 12-18
Wednesdays, 5:30- 7:00 pm
October 19th-November 9th
FREE
Using journal prompts, collage, bookbinding, and various art media, this 6-week workshop will bring the magical and fun experience of exploring your imagination through the blank pages of a handmade journal! Participants will be encouraged to use words and art to access their authentic expression(s)! During sessions 1& 2, participants will make handmade journals and gather visual materials that reflect their creative visions. During sessions 3-6, participants will use their gathered materials to begin exploring their imagination on the blank page through guided exercises facilitated by Kellz! At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will depart with handmade books filled with words, visual creations of their imagination, and the skills to create more handmade journals for the forever creative and writing future!
Saving Your History
with Clarity Amrein
All Ages Welcome
Thursdays, 6:00- 7:30 pm
October 13th-November 10th
FREE
Join us to learn about digital preservation and community archiving with the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library!
Race and the City Cincinnati, 1820-Present
with Melanie Moon
Ages 12-14
Thursdays, 4:00- 5:00 pm
October 27th-November 17th
FREE
This program is based on the book Race and the City: Work, Community and Protest in Cincinnati 1820-1970 by Dr. Henry Louis Taylor, Jr. Students ages 12-14 will explore chapter 2 of the book titled “John Mercer Langston”. John was only 11 years old when he came to Cincinnati during the summer of 1841 to find himself in the middle of a race riot. In addition to listening to the reading of the chapter, students will examine the work of SOS Art Cincinnati poets, visual and performing artists to become familiar with the chapter. Students will then let their imaginations soar as they create their own artistic expressions of the chapter through poetry, essays, dramatizations, visual art, and more!
WordPlay Presents: Arts and Medicine: A Reading, Performance, and Panel
Thursday, October 27, 2022,
6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Where: Virtual (Zoom link available upon registration)
FREE
Please join us on Thursday, October 27 (6:00 PM-7:30 PM) for Arts and Medicine; an online reading, performance, and panel that celebrates the intersection of these two practices. This event will feature Cincinnati’s Youth Poet Laureate Rimel Kamran alongside artist and healthcare professionals: Dani Clark (artist, researcher, and narrative medicine specialist), Christina Eskridge (actor, theatre company founder, and public health specialist) and Dr. Joanne Godley (physician, poet, and bioethicist).
Event is FREE. For more information or to register for this event, please contact Yalie Saweda Kamara: yalie@wordplaycincy.org
The Joy Lab: A Collaborative Experiment in Handling Current Events
with Jacob Zimmerman
Ages 14-18
3 Saturdays 11:00am-12:00pm
October 29th-November 12th
FREE
How do we stay interested, alert, and undaunted when current events in our communities, and the wider world, often: make us feel angry, overwhelmed, burnt out, or afraid? In this 3-week creative writing series, we will experiment with joy. In this "Joy Lab," students will engage in a variety of creative exercises that explore delight, humor, and play as a way to "re-think” how to react, act, survive, and even thrive during what can be scary socio-economic and political times in our communities and the world at large. We will explore joy not as a way to ignore current events that trouble us, but rather as something that helps us to think critically as we remain engaged citizens, attentive to the world around us. This Joy Lab and our collaborative work will, therefore, make us better equipped to digest/respond to current issues we can process and protest as we are compelled to action.
Junk Journals for Everyone!
with Lizzy Duquette
Ages 8 & Up!
Saturday, November 19 11:00am-12:00pm
FREE
Let’s make something beautiful and useful out of paper scraps! Found paper ephemera become delightful journals, art books, or story books with simple binding. Go on a scavenger hunt to find old books and magazines, junk mail, and paper in your recycling bin! This workshop is for age 8 and up, with all skill levels welcome.
