At the beginning there was art... but somewhere along the way I got distracted...
My name is Natalie Collins. I lived in Los Angeles, recently moved to Jamaica and am in the process of creating an organization called Jeli Coconut- a child/youth based arts organization spanning Los Angeles and Port Antonio, Jamaica initially but eventually the Afro/Caribbean diaspora. I call it Jeli Coconut from the Mali word Jali (griot) and because well it's a Caribbean based project I wanted to give it a Caribbean flavor. You dig.
JeliCoconut has been simmering in the recesses of my mind for over a decade now but finally gained momentum in 2007. In 2007, I worked with the National Gallery of Jamaica and through that connection I worked with the MultiCare Foundation to provide a summer arts program for youth in Kingston. It was a great program but I noticed that literacy was a big issue...the children had difficulties reading and writing. Writing was seen as a chore or a punishment- and there didn't seem to be a connection to writing as a form of expression or fun.
Despite the challenge, the fact that the program exists was a huge deal. There's nothing like that in Port Antonio. Some of the biggest challenges in Portie are education, youth development and literacy and I wanted to find a way to address them in some way. Despite the challenges here, it's a Parish that has so much untapped talent and potential. I want to be able to link the visual expression with verbal and written expression- storytelling. Music and lyricing is huge and I thought that there must be a way to connect that- use it as a hook to help children not only tell their stories but then become the authors of their own lives.
When I look back at where I’ve come from to get to this point- I realize that I’ve been on this journey from before I can remember. At the center of everything is the ability to tell and share stories. According to my mom, I was born with the gift of the gab. I love telling stories and have often had people complain that I am a little longwinded. But I love stories….everything and everyone has a story. As an art history major I was fascinated by the stories behind the art, why it looked the way it does. As a social worker, I’ve always been interested in the stories people tell about their lives and the choices they’ve made. And as an educator, I’ve always felt it important for children to tell their own stories about what and how they are learning. The problem is I had no idea what to do with any of this.
It took a while to finally piece it together but it finally dawned on me that the vision that had me firmly in its grips was leading me towards something bigger than just my own story. It’s our story.
The journey has been bumpy, a source of great consternation and stress, but it’s also been a process of refinement, expansion, ownership and acceptance. On this strange and round about journey I learned that I was looking for much more than a job or a means to earn money…I have been searching for meaning. Yet, I was an artist without artwork, a social worker without vision and a teacher without inspiration because the very things that inspired and excited me were the very things I was too scared to pursue wholeheartedly. I was too scared to live my own story as it unfolds in its non linear, irrational, meandaring manner.
I am thankful throughout this process for the people and the organizations that have inspired me over the years. My family for supporting me even when they could not fully comprehend and my friends who just nodded and said ok Nat.
Jeli Coconut really has been born out of my life experience and the people whose lives have touched mine. YA/YA in New Orleans was a great inspiration because it showed me how the arts could have an impact, Institute for Practical Democracy for the importance of telling stories and Head Start for its larger than life presence in shaping early childhood and transforming the lives of entire communities.
I'm a social worker, visual artist and educator among other things. But most importantly, what I want you to know about me is that I care about people. Jeli Coconut is my opportunity to do meaningful work and help people make a difference in their own lives. Each one of us is unique and wonderfully and
amazing created with a specific gift/talent that will in some way enhance the
human experience. My hope, my vision and my dream is that my life enhances and inspires the lives of all it touches…and with an open heart I offer myself in service.
My name is Natalie Collins. I lived in Los Angeles, recently moved to Jamaica and am in the process of creating an organization called Jeli Coconut- a child/youth based arts organization spanning Los Angeles and Port Antonio, Jamaica initially but eventually the Afro/Caribbean diaspora. I call it Jeli Coconut from the Mali word Jali (griot) and because well it's a Caribbean based project I wanted to give it a Caribbean flavor. You dig.
JeliCoconut has been simmering in the recesses of my mind for over a decade now but finally gained momentum in 2007. In 2007, I worked with the National Gallery of Jamaica and through that connection I worked with the MultiCare Foundation to provide a summer arts program for youth in Kingston. It was a great program but I noticed that literacy was a big issue...the children had difficulties reading and writing. Writing was seen as a chore or a punishment- and there didn't seem to be a connection to writing as a form of expression or fun.
Despite the challenge, the fact that the program exists was a huge deal. There's nothing like that in Port Antonio. Some of the biggest challenges in Portie are education, youth development and literacy and I wanted to find a way to address them in some way. Despite the challenges here, it's a Parish that has so much untapped talent and potential. I want to be able to link the visual expression with verbal and written expression- storytelling. Music and lyricing is huge and I thought that there must be a way to connect that- use it as a hook to help children not only tell their stories but then become the authors of their own lives.
When I look back at where I’ve come from to get to this point- I realize that I’ve been on this journey from before I can remember. At the center of everything is the ability to tell and share stories. According to my mom, I was born with the gift of the gab. I love telling stories and have often had people complain that I am a little longwinded. But I love stories….everything and everyone has a story. As an art history major I was fascinated by the stories behind the art, why it looked the way it does. As a social worker, I’ve always been interested in the stories people tell about their lives and the choices they’ve made. And as an educator, I’ve always felt it important for children to tell their own stories about what and how they are learning. The problem is I had no idea what to do with any of this.
It took a while to finally piece it together but it finally dawned on me that the vision that had me firmly in its grips was leading me towards something bigger than just my own story. It’s our story.
The journey has been bumpy, a source of great consternation and stress, but it’s also been a process of refinement, expansion, ownership and acceptance. On this strange and round about journey I learned that I was looking for much more than a job or a means to earn money…I have been searching for meaning. Yet, I was an artist without artwork, a social worker without vision and a teacher without inspiration because the very things that inspired and excited me were the very things I was too scared to pursue wholeheartedly. I was too scared to live my own story as it unfolds in its non linear, irrational, meandaring manner.
I am thankful throughout this process for the people and the organizations that have inspired me over the years. My family for supporting me even when they could not fully comprehend and my friends who just nodded and said ok Nat.
Jeli Coconut really has been born out of my life experience and the people whose lives have touched mine. YA/YA in New Orleans was a great inspiration because it showed me how the arts could have an impact, Institute for Practical Democracy for the importance of telling stories and Head Start for its larger than life presence in shaping early childhood and transforming the lives of entire communities.
I'm a social worker, visual artist and educator among other things. But most importantly, what I want you to know about me is that I care about people. Jeli Coconut is my opportunity to do meaningful work and help people make a difference in their own lives. Each one of us is unique and wonderfully and
amazing created with a specific gift/talent that will in some way enhance the
human experience. My hope, my vision and my dream is that my life enhances and inspires the lives of all it touches…and with an open heart I offer myself in service.
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