This past summer, the Live Arts Media Project returned with a 3-week summer intensive.  The last LAMP summer program was in 2006, and out of it produced the amazing Rising Up From the Ashes: Chronicles of a Dropout Hip Hop Audio Documentary.  Since the completion of that CD project we have developed workshops, gone on tour, conducted a city-wide survey and started an all-ages bi-monthly hip hop event called DTENSION.  This has all been a part of a campaign to transform education in Detroit through youth-led creativity and critical thinking. 

This summer, we took the campaign one step further, by creating videos inspired by some of the themes raised in the original LAMP CD.  But instead of investigate the root problems leading people to drop-out, these videos focus in on solutions.  These aren't just pie-in-the-sky solutions we dreamed up.  We've developed them over the past two years of in-depth participatory research with youth in the city.  We've also researched other places where these types of solutions have been implemented successully.  The 3 themes of the videos are: "Cooperative Economics" "Alternatives to Criminalization" and "Respect."  Based on the work we've done, we really believe these  models, if applied in our schools here in Detroit, would reduce the drop-out rate and make school a place where people actually wanted to come.

So you're probably wondering... how can you WATCH the videos?? We had an incredible community critique at the end of the summer which gave parents, teachers and other friends of Detroit Summer a chance to give us feedback on what we created.  We're spending the next month putting the final touches on our videos, but don't worry, when they're finished, you will know.  

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All photos taken by Ileana Cortez!

Click "Read More" to see our Mind Maps for the videos...