National Museum of Mexican Art - Week One

Hello!

I hope everyone had a week full of excitement and lots of learning opportunities.

This was my first week at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago where I am helping out with the Bilingual Summer Camp. The primary focus of this camp is to offer children the capability to learn about the diversity of the arts.

Each day is organized with the same schedule, followed by a variety of activities. The day always starts with dance class, in which the children have been learning a Baile Folklorico. The skirts and shoes the children wear for practice make everything more realistic to what the dance actually entails.

There are two scheduled times for art activities that incorporate pieces from the exhibits in which the children get to explore and engage in a better understanding of the significance. One of the projects we worked on this week was reflecting on self portraits and what feelings are evoked from them. Each child was required to draw a piece they chose on a canvas and customize it to their preference by changing the background. They also had a photo taken in which was cut out to be placed on the canvas as if they were the focal point of the portrait. It was interesting to see how different they interpreted a set of instructions, just as in the way art is exemplified. There can be multiple meanings to a piece of art when being looked at.

One of the best things about working with children is the immense amount of impact one can have in their future. I had the opportunity to meet a nine year old girl who had more dreams and aspirations than I ever did at that age. Her dream is to become an artist and attend Yale or Harvard. The ultimate goal she has in mind is to become the first female Mexican President. It was astonishing to know that all the children are looking forward to their future at such a young age. From the first day I began my internship, I decided to make the children's goals my priority. After being in Washington for a week, I realized how important it is to have people surrounding you that believe in all that you are capable of. This feeling ultimately lead to the impact I want to have towards them.

Everyone at the museum has been friendly and extremely generous with their time. When I was being introduced at each department of the building, I was treated with much respect after mentioning I was interning as part of the Smithsonian Latino Center. Representing YAP in my community has allowed me to make connections in such a short amount of time. The children were also extremely welcoming and it all began when I told them I lived in the suburbs of Chicago. They immediately proceeded to ask me if I lived on a farm with chickens and cows. It sure was a great way to break the ice!

I have slowly been more aware that with everything good in your life, comes sacrifice. The commute getting to the museum was quite difficult in the beginning. I woke up at five in the morning each day to catch my first train that took me to downtown Chicago in about an hour and a half. After that, I got on the 'L' to make it to the actual museum since it is not directly in the city. The first day I had an experience in which two men insisted on me walking in front of them on the street. My immediate reaction was to remove myself from the situation because it was clear they did not have good intentions. Being on the second train alone was scary, especially being on there alone as a female. In the back of my head I kept thinking, "the sacrifice is worth the outcome I will get out of this." Now, I have decided that in order to be safe I will be driving to the location each day. It all worked out in my favor, I save two hours on the commute and feel happier while being at the museum.

Surrounding myself with art has also influenced me to do a few things out of my comfort zone in which I have been interested in for a long time. I started my first painting and a small decorative box. It has been very peaceful to work on something artistic, and highly encourage all of you to do the same thing.

This week has been very fulfilling, and am looking forward to everything that's to come in the next couple of weeks. One of my projects for next week is doing research on pieces as a guide for teachers to use them in the fall as part of their curriculum. It has been great interacting with everyone on social media and can't wait to read about what this week has entailed for each of you.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Andrea Vallejo