Click here if you would like to make a donation to the Charlotte Miller Art Project.

CMAP is currently looking for future art workshop leaders *Please see ‘news’ page on how to apply 

“Art – creating it, sharing the effect it has, is one of the most powerful languages there is.”

Sue Miller, project founder, 2005

The Charlotte Miller Art Project is a nationally and internationally recognised project that works with street children in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayquil. The city has extensive urban slum areas, where most of the children live in extremely hard circumstances.To date, hundreds of the city’s street children have been given the opportunity to participant in valuable arts-based educational activities.

Ecuador boards Peru and Columbia in Latin America.About 40% of the national income goes to the richest (5%) of the population. 79% of Ecuador’s population live below the poverty line and 52% live on less than $2 a day. (INNFA, 2004)

The project works through an international street children’s charity JUCONI (Junto con los ninos – together with the children). Street involved children are expected to assume responsibly for income generation, domestic household tasks and child care from a very early age. These children often have no time available in their busy day for recreational and creative activities and in most cases their parents do not understand the value or importance of expressive activities and stimulation for their child’s full development.

The Charlotte Miller Art Project gives street working children aged between 5 and 18 years the chance to express themselves through art based activities, which develop their self-esteem, confidence and their ability to communicate with others. The project works in collaboration with ICYE (international Cultural Youth Exchange) to source and train volunteer art project leader’s t travel to Ecuador for 6 and 12 month long placements. To date the children have experienced making artwork by drawing, painting, model making, photography, video, performance, fashion and story telling.

The children’s artwork is used within their local communities to advocate an understanding of the issues affecting their lives. Their artwork has also been exhibited in the International Gallery of Children’s Art in London and the museum of Children’s art in New York, raising awareness amongst international audiences.

“CMAP works with ‘the process’ at the core of its practice. The children and young people who attend CMAP workshops gain far more than creative and expressive skills. Workshops offer a space to explore their needs, gain confidence, make friendships, develop self-esteem and self-reflection. The artwork is secondary to the empowerment that the children and young people experience.”

Lynn Weddle, Project Manager, 2008

CMAP aims:

To develop communication skills and self-expression for hundreds street-involved and highly marginalised children and youth through community-based art activities and one-on-one sessions.

CMAP Objectives:

• To run artist lead workshops and sessions in the children’s own environment using a variety of mediums.
• To encourage self-expression and self-reflection through making artwork and group interaction.
• To provide a safe, comfortable environment for children and young people to express themselves through a variety of mediums.
• To challenge existing stereotypes and prejudices of street involved children by giving the children themselves a voice.
• To promote and showcase the children’s voice through exhibitions, web media and publications.
• To work in partnerships with other organizations regionally, nationally and internationally in the delivery and promotion of educational and community workshops.
• To offer artists and project facilitators professional development within the arts education field.

Vicky Jowett is a textile artist who traveled to Ecuador in 2006 to run the art project for a six-month period. She has outreach project work experience from her work in the UK as a practicing community artist, where she worked for Brighton city council running outreach projects in special needs schools.

Vicky is still involved in the project to date and is now living in Ecuador. She is involved in developing CMAP with new groups of children and is researching into establishing the project with groups of children with disabilities. Vicky is also involved in the project’s monitoring and evaluation.

Maxine Clay August 2006 – March 2007

Maxine Clay is a textile artist who run CMAP with Vicky Jowett for a six-month period. Maxine was heavily involved in the exhibition showcase at the Museum of Children’s art in New York, where in which a large body of the children work was exhibited alongside a live stream event where a group of street children made artwork in collaboration with children in NY. Maxine is teaching in art and design at an inner London school.

Emily Wood August 2007 – March 2008

Emily Wood is a Brighton based visual artist and youth worker. Having being involved with youth work for over ten years she has a vast experience of working with disadvantaged young people in the UK and around the world. Currently in Ecuador volunteering for C.Map, Emily is also developing projects for Toucan Arts a provider of global youth arts workshops, which she set up in 2006.

Hannah Whelan August 2007 – March 2008

Hannah Whelan is a theatre practitioner with experience of facilitating theatre workshops with asylum seekers and refugee communities in London. She facilitated on the CMAP for a six-month period, which culminated in a presentation of the young people’s work in the Museum of Contemporary Art and Anthropology (MAAC) in Guyaquil in March 2008.

Anna Sims Aug 2008 – July 2009

Anna has a background in illustration and printmaking. She currently works in Museum and Gallery education in the North West of England. Previously she has worked as a freelance artist. Anna has vast experience working creatively with children and young people, both as school groups and in a community setting. During her time volunteering for the Charlotte Miller art project Anna will work with established groups as well as on the development and expansion of the project.

Gemma Jones August 2008 – May 2009

Gemma Jones has a background in photography and she has worked as a professional photographer for many years in Bristol, now she is working as a photographer’s agent in London. She is has excellent knowledge of building and establishing work placements within the creative industry and will be a great asset to the vocational aspects of the ‘Beyond Vision’ photography project. In the UK she is currently volunteering for Zoom in Photography based in London, who specialise in running outreach projects with vulnerable inner city groups.

Through CMAP professional, experienced artists and facilitators will run two phases to the project:

INDIVDUAL EXPRESSION

Through one on one sessions assisted by JUCONI’S educator art project facilitators will use different types of art form to give each child an opening for communication and access opportunities to develop, explore and express feelings about their current situation and identify their hopes for the future and methods of realizing those hopes.

It is often much easier for children and young people to express themselves through art than through verbal communication. Art works not only as a guide to the process of thinking about feelings and ideas but also is an excellent focus for sharing with others.

The project provides a vital opportunity for children and young people to interact positively with each other and share experiences in a non-threatening environment. The project encourages social integration and the development of cooperation.

The presentation of work to their families, their schools and their communities will sensitise parents, teachers and community leaders to children’s current conditions and their hopes for the future, so that children’s voices are heard and respected.

Using a variety of volunteer creative practitioners, the children have experienced making artwork by drawing, painting, model making, photography, video, performance, fashion and story telling.

The project is run in four of Guayaquil’s slum areas Fortin, Flor de Bastion, Isla Trinitaria and Fertisa. Workshops run twice a week for two hours. Groups can be as large as 30 children and young people. Children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years old attend on a regular basis.

By making a donation to project you will be helping as to sustain its valuable work; you would be helping us reach more children and young people. To make your donation there are two simple ways:

BY CHEQUE

Cheques should be made to International Children’s Trust and sent to:

Cheque must be clearly marked on the back ‘Charlotte Miller Art Project – Juconi Ecuador’.

ON THE INTERNET

You can donate using your debit or cheque card online by visiting the International Children’s Trust website. On the donations page you will find a drop down box titled ‘To Support’ please select the ‘Charlotte Miller Art Project’. Don’t Forget Gift Aid

In either case, don’t forget to apply for Gift Aid by following the Gift Aid instructions when completing your donation or if your are donating by cheque please attach a slip which states your wish for ICT to claim gift aid on your donation.

WHAT IS GIFT AID?

Gift Aid is a scheme to enable tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom.

Gift Aid allows individuals who are subject to UK income tax, to complete a simple, short declaration that they are a UK taxpayer. Any cash donations that the taxpayer makes to the charity after making a declaration are treated as being made after deduction of income tax at the basic rate (22% in 2006/7), and the charity can reclaim the basic rate income tax paid on the gift.

If you are a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid allows ICT to claim back from the Government an extra 28p for every £1 you give.

*NOW RECRUITING FOR 2009*

The Charlotte Miller Art Project is working in collaboration with ICYE an international youth exchange program. ICYE is recruiting art workshop facilitators to run the Charlotte miller Art Project in Guayaquil for six and 12 month long placements.

If you are interested in sharing your passion for working with the street children using the creative process, then please get involved. If you would like further information please contact the international placement coordinator Jenny Williams. We are seeking artists and facilitators from all arts based practises.

International@icye.co.uk
www.icye.org

“PROJECTS 2007 – 08” Museum of Contemporary Art and Anthropology (MAAC), Guyaquil, Ecuador March 2008

Artwork produced by the children and young people during Emily Wood and Hannah Whelan’s six-month placement running CMAP was on display in the city’s major Museum of Contemporary art and Anthology. “Guayaquil Vision’ a tour operator company sponsored the project by picking up children involved in the project in their double decker bus!

To see photos and hear more please visit: www.emilyawood.multiply.com

“EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE 2007” Teatro Centro de arts, Guayaquil, Ecuador December 2007

An exhibition of artwork produced by the children and young people was displayed during a fund raising concert at the Teatro Centro de arts in the center of Guayaquil. Large-scale drawings and paintings from all groups was on displayed and viewed by many.

To see photos and hear more please visit:www.emilyawood.multiply.com

“ArC – Art reflecting Citizenship” Firstsite Contemporary art, Colchester, UK

The street children’s photography was displayed as part of the exhibition ‘ArC: Art Reflecting Citizenship’ in May 2007 at Firstsite art Gallery. UK coordinator Lynn Weddle worked with a school in the UK and Vicky Jowett worked closely with an art group in Ecuador. The children spoke to each other during the live stream event and discussed their artwork. All the young people’s artwork from the UK and Ecuador was displayed for a month in the gallery and visited by over ten schools.

‘Talking to the street children in Ecuador was amazing and very crazy, because they are so far away and live in such a different place to me. I hope I can speak to them again soon, it was fun.’

Dan, age 8, UK

“POSTIVA REALIDAD” Children’s Museum of the Arts, NYC 2006-2007

Artwork from the Charlotte Miller Art Project together with photographs from the Beyond Vision Photography project were exhibited in a showcase exhibition at the Children’s museum of the arts, New York from 30th November 2006 to 27th February 2007. Live stream workshop were run between children in the gallery in NYC and the street children in Ecuador.

www.cmanyc.org

PIC ME, ECUADOR 2005 International Gallery of Children’s Art, London 2005

Photographs from the Beyond Vision photography project were exhibited at the International Gallery of Children’s Art from 1st October 2005 to 1st December 2005. Alongside the kids own photograph were their auto, self-portraits made with a cable realise, SLR film and black and white film. The workshop facilitators run sessions with local schools in London to educate children in the UK about life for children in Ecuador. School children made postcards of their own artwork, describing their lives to sent to the street children in Ecuador alongside self-portraits of their own.

www.igca.org