Reflecting on my artistic practice as exhibitionist, curator, educator, student, engaged community member, there is an overemphasizing of consumption when it comes to validating (A)rt or (D)esign as distinguished from craft, folk art, and the ethnographic. This represents facets in art and design movements to disproportionately depicting Western canons as intellectual and the global narrative of Asian, African, Oceanic, Indigenous, and Creole diasporas as the fetishized, primitive other. While Newark (like many major cities) has always had a history being culturally and ethnically diverse, the systemic oppression of Black and Latin residents, the ethnic tension among White populations, and the political changes resulting in Newark Riots yielded to a significant loss of industry due to an exodus of the middle class towards surrounding suburbs. Although I am first generation American and have no relatives who experienced life in Newark since the 1960s, there is a through-line in art, education, and cultural activism in people's revolutions. In the way my mother experienced education destabilization in Grenada and my brother experienced the reduction in the quality of education at Weequahic High School, the legacy of fine arts and design education at my alma mater Arts High School has been maimed in direct consequence of the defunding, relocation, and closure of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. I am extremely grateful to have the privilege of pursuing my innate passion for art at a young age, but I would not be receptive to the opportunities I've earned without the faith, encouragement, and guidance of teachers, practicing artists, and activists as community leaders.

The scholasticide of education is a shared generational and cross-cultural struggle that comes in many forms. When institutions fail, falter, or are sabotaged, it's up to community to assess, react, provide, and coalesce. The goal of the Projects in Authorship workshop series is to be a transient, community tethered experience not only where experiences are fluid and nonlinear, but participants can curate non-canonized art narratives tailored to addressing their specific needs.