futurity (noun) – future time; time to come

The Riverside Arts Center Futurity Project is an ongoing series of prompt-based art objectives for K-12 students, utilizing local history to generate visual, sculptural, and/or recorded statements, with a focus on using accessible and less traditional art materials. By responding creatively to the past, students are invited to imagine the future they want to help create.

The Riverside Arts Center Futurity Project’s three main goals are:

1) To define art as the ability to communicate and make statements.

2) To discuss and explore important moments in local history.

3) To prioritize accessibility in materials and process.

The projects are designed to be as accessible and entry-level as possible, meaning any student who wants to participate has the ability to, and any student who wants to go above and beyond can. The goal is for each student to generate their own unique response to each prompt, allowing them to fully explore how they would like to use the materials and the artistic methods provided.

To be considered accessible, materials have to be either available to students outside of school or affordable enough to be purchased on an entry-level public school teacher’s salary. The only materials used beyond these standards are when they are paid for through grants, thus making them accessible.

Ypsilanti artist Nick Azzaro will serve as the Curator of Education and lead this initiative, which is loosely based on the Ypsilanti Future History Project. He will utilize his established relationships with Ypsilanti Community Schools art teachers and rotate through each of their classrooms to work with their students throughout the year. Additionally, he will run workshops at Riverside Arts Center on Saturdays, pre-planned no-school days, and some weekday evenings. All necessary art materials will be provided. The resulting student work will be displayed at Riverside Arts Center in at least one public show.

Student work created during the “Model Student” workshop.