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Walking through Sycamore Grove offered the students a unique opportunity to learn about a place and history that the majority of them, and most Angelenos, are not familiar with.
Located in Glassell Park the Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts (LFCSA) is a unique school that uses the arts as conduits to spark curiosity, confidence, ignite collaboration, and build the foundation for civic engagement – ultimately creating a whole new way of learning. For this new installment of LFCSA Youth Voices, Arts Integration Coordinator Evelyn Serrano and teacher Fidel Velasco are working with their third grade students to re-imagine the Bowtie Parcel along the Los Angeles River as part of the L.A. River Design Project.
The L.A. River Design Project is a product of the Arts for L.A. ACTIVATE program. The project's seed was planted by ACTIVATE member and LFCSA parent, Sonny Calderon, as a project that could be replicated in other schools, and would have at its core the focus on youth as active participants in the life of their city.
The challenge presented to the students at LFCSA is to design an ideal community space that is inspiring and inclusive for humans, native plants, and animals. Drawing from interdisciplinary skills learned in their regular coursework and specialized design and communication skills learned specifically for this project, the students will present their ideas and unique perspective on public use development to a panel of city officials. Sharing vital input from a heretofore overlooked population, what the school call’s “child citizens.”
With the guidance and support of several community partners, the students will learn what types of elements and considerations to build into their designs (e.g., purposes, environmental concerns, ADA, public art opportunities, zoning parameters), as they work in teams to research, develop, and present their plans to community leaders.
