Blog 3: Journey to Learn About Arts and Activism

Karl Kitching- Education Advocate

Karl Kitching
Taken from UCC Website

While in Ireland, I had the opportunity to meet with an individual who had the same social justice interest, education. After doing some research, I felt drawn to a professor at UCC named Karl Kitching. His background in the primary school setting along with numerous publication regarding race showed he was the perfect person to interview. I was excited to hear about his ideas and thoughts regarding the education system not just in Ireland but globally. Below include important quotes and ideas that I obtained during my interview with Karl.

1. Background
1. Taught in Dublin as a Language Support Teacher
2. Noticed the immigration increase
3. "The infrastructure to understand minority groups in the education system is very poor"
4. Masters of Literacy
5. "Racism. The fact that these kids were being skewed based on the fact that they were other or being others based on having parents of migrant backgrounds"
6. "As a white guy who has been very privileged and part of the norm and all that kind of stuff, it wasn't something I really reflected on"
7. Ph.D on Racism
8. David Gillborn
9. "The discourse about race and racism wasn't as developed and didn't have the same history"
2. Using Arts and Education
1. "Say what is unsayable or unthinkable"
2. "Provide a medium on which on the one hand people can give counter stories... "
3. "arts is about how you feel"
4. "racism has a lot to do about feelings and emotions"
5. "the arts is one of the key ways to building relationship"
6. "it provides the voice for marginalized people"
7. "Arts are a form of respected cultures so all cultures get a seat at the table because of that"
3. Activism
1. Practices of Learners Citizenship- things students do that are anti racist in the everyday
1. Ex: Reporting racism
2. Acts of Learners Citizenship- creative things that confound you and make you wonder what you are going to do next
1. Ex: Anti Racist intervention
3. "who lives here belongs here" -> "who learns here belongs here"
4. "media is the key way to get the message across"
5. Public Pedagogy
6. "As a white person who has got so much privilege, how can you talk about dismantling white privilege without making yourself the center of attention?"
7. "Use your privilege to enable and support other people to speak"
8. "You can't actually quantify the history that is giving you the privileges that you have, it has come long before your life"
9. Ex: First Holy Communion --> someone doesn't partake in it --> Not Catholic = Not Irish = Where are you from?
10. "It might surprise people around here.. but I wasn't born an immigrant and it is not a disease. I wasn't Black until I came to Ireland"

Through this interview, I was able to gain insight into the school system that Karl experienced while he was teaching. In addition, Karl gave me many tools for me to use to help embed a diverse culture of respect regarding race in the classroom. I was amazed by how intelligent Karl was. I enjoyed getting to know him and hearing the stories that led him to the place he is today.

Anthony Griffin- Photographer

Anthony Griffin
Taken from Website

When I was looking for a photographer, I wanted to interview an individual who focused on portraits. Not only were they to focus on portraits but I also sought out someone who wanted to convey a deeper message within their photographs. I found Anthony Griffin who currently lives in Dublin and is a free lance photographer.

"It was less about a career, I just wanted to learn [about photography] and see something else"

The work that inspired me to interview him was his project, "An Uncommon Beauty" that featured women who had alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. Not only did Anthony captivate beautiful women but he was also telling the world that hair isn't important. During the interview, I talked to Anthony a lot about this project. We discussed his motives behind capturing the portraits for the project. He talked about how he was drawn to alopecia because he knew someone that had the disease. Through the use of photographs, Anthony is able to capture women from throughout Ireland that were willing to be models. The most shocking part about this process was hearing how many of the models would have to remove their wigs which they had not even done in front of their partners or significant others.

"The more you engage with something, the more you engage the viewer"

In addition, Anthony gave words of advice of how to capture the perfect shot. His suggestions included building off of our interests and using photography as a way to get to know human stories. What stemmed from an interest in music, social justice and photography led Anthony to become the artist he is today.

"People interest me. I rather spend an hour talking to people than looking at landscapes"