Good afternoon,
My name is Lina, I am an artist and art teacher from Kuwait. The folks at Offscreen have chosen me to accompany their talented young winners from Kuwait to the UK this summer on an art expedition. We are almost three weeks away from the trip so I thought it was about time to update our blog.
In college I attended the University of Arizona school of art program where I was educated in the ways of making art. When I got back to Kuwait I decided to apply to work as a teacher; now I teach middle school and high school art/photography. Working with kids in Kuwait is very rewarding. The students are hard workers, and their skill level is very high. However, I struggle the most when it comes to conceptual work. I find it easier (on them) to tell the students to copy a successful technique than it is to ask them to create something that reflects their own opinion of the world. They have actually in the past expressed to me how much they would rather not explore the conceptual side creating art. Since this was my first year as a teacher, I chose not to push them too hard so I stuck mainly to less conceptual work. But when I heard of Offscreen and the opportunity to work with Offscreen I was really excited. I could see thru the clips on youtube that the students were constantly asked to think, reflect, and create. If I could learn how to inspire my students in that way; it would make this trip invaluable. If successful, this trip will affect every single student I ever teach from this point on. So yes, I am looking forward to this trip.
I wasn’t sure if I should post these.. but here are some examples of my lovely sixth graders work:
And some from my seniors:
In other news, yesterday morning I had a chance to meet with Fahad and his mother at the British Council. We talked for a while about the trip and our expectations. Fahad seems like a very responsible/creative young man. I am looking forward to seeing him interact with the students in the UK.
We’ve set up a meeting for next Tuesday to meet with Jena and then to go down and finish our Visa applications. I hope that we will all be approved in time for the trip in July (inshallah).
For more info about Offscreen visit their site: http://offscreen.org.uk/
LM
Teaching is one of the most amazing things to do because its the only profession where you actually gain from giving. ‘speaking of experience’ I used to teach last summer and it inspired me to many things, it has also changed me and all I can say is, keep doing what your doing your a really talented person, and i`m loving each and every single thing you do.
-S.A. Al-Derham, Team Qatar
Why thank you S.A. Al-Derham. I haven’t found a job I like doing better than teaching, like you said its very rewarding. Can’t wait to see people from the other teams, hope they are as interesting as my team