20/20 Visions

Date: 
Monday, February 1, 2021 12:00 am to Friday, December 31, 2021 11:45 pm

The year 2020 emphasized globalization and the shared experiences of a global pandemic, climate change, and social justice movements in communities across the world. The 20/20 Visions project utilizes art, creativity, and the act of making as methods to communicate thoughts and feelings around these impactful experiences in ways that are inclusive, regardless of linguistic, cultural, or other barriers. Please visit the links below to learn about how you can participate in this project.

 

This project is made possible by generous funding from the University of Pittsburgh’s Year of Engagement grant.

 

Letters Without Words (K-12; Community Members)

Derived from the word “magazine,” zines are self-published works of original media that can be designed without language or technology, making them an avenue for artistic expression that does not exclude frequently marginalized groups from contributing to the project. These populations include non-native language learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged participants, and special needs participants. Ultimately, the zines will be exchanged through our partnerships across the Pittsburgh region and with educational partners abroad, including Pittsburgh’s Sister Cities. 

 

Resources:

 

20/20 Visions Zine Tutorial video

Letters Without Words presentation

 

Honma, T. (2016). From archives to action: Zines, participatory culture, and community engagement in Asian America. Radical Teacher, 105
Gibb, L. (2013). Educating with zines. Broken Pencil, pp. 18-20. Retrieved from: https://brokenpencil.com/news/educating-with-zines/
Thomas, S. (2018). Zines for teaching: A survey of pedagogy and implications for academic librarians. Librarian and the Academy, 18(4), 737-758.
Tollafield, K. A. (2016). Maga(zine) moguls: Students as engaged, motivated readers and writers. In J. K. Dowdy & Y. Gao (Eds.), Pump it up! Literacy activities for the classroom (pp. 59-63). Rotterdam, NL: Sense Publishers.
Oslund, J. A., & Barton, J. (2017). Creating zines: Supporting powerful math identities. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 23(1), 20-28.
Buchanan, R. (2012). Zines in the classroom: Reading culture. The English Journal, 102(2), 71-77.
 

Collective Memory Tiles (University of Pittsburgh; Community Members)

 

Collective Memory Tiles are inspired by artist Ik-Joong Kang’s piece, Happy World: Scattered Crumbs, in which he uses small, square canvases to illustrate his feelings and interactions living in New York City after moving from South Korea. In a similar vein, Collective Memory Tiles consist of small plywood squares on which participants draw, paint, collage, or use other mixed media to create responses to the 20/20 Visions prompts, which will be hung together to create one large installation. The Collective Memory Tiles will be displayed both online and in-person in the Pitt Global Hub, with the intention to create a traveling exhibition.  View exhibition.

 

Resources:

 

Happy World: Scattered Crumbs by Ik-Joong Kang

Mailing request form (If you are unable to pick up a kit on the Pitt campus and would like one to be mailed to you, fill out this form.)

Registration Form

 

Our Partners

Pittsburgh Banksville Elementary School

Sega Girls Secondary School, Kenya

Center for Creativity at the University of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Year of Engagement