Ellen’s Work Blog
October 2024
It was so busy at AMP in September that I missed half of the activity! I m still wondering what happened to two of the four weeks this month. Now, here comes October—all at once, leaves are dropping way too fast, and gorgeous days are ending with powerful sunsets. This month at AMP is bookended with two of my most anticipated events of 2024.
On Saturday, October 5, Melissa Bennett, the amazing firefighter depicted in the mural is coming from Brooklyn with family and friends to see the mural and check out her portrait for the first time. I have been excited about this moment since we installed Melissa's portrait in 2019. We are going to have a blast sitting and talking about how we met and her work as a NYC firefighter (including being the first woman to train a future class of firefighters). Melissa is funny and self-effacing. She is the recipient of many awards and has been honored on several occasions for her singular achievements as a member of Canarsie’s Engine 257. I cannot believe my luck meeting Melissa, and I am so proud to call her a friend.
Another milestone moment is coming up on October 28. On that Monday morning at 9am, we will greet 80 middle and high school students from ten Connecticut schools for the first time. Together, we will start Regeneration, a seven-month collaborative art project. The first hour will be taken to get to know each other. Then we will tackle a mammoth question: How do we create a blueprint for cleaning up our environment on a global scale? Over the next seven months, these kids will create an art piece that will explore their deepest concerns. Working independently with faculty advisors at their respective schools, the kids will construct three-dimensional sections highlighting their ideas for positive change. All the creative work and the narrative copy will be by the students. Once finished, everything will be installed at AMP in the Ramp Gallery.
On Earth Day, our awesome AMP Advisor, Regeneration author Paul Hawken (who inspired this project at AMP) will come all the way from San Francisco to meet our Regeneration kids and sign his book to each of them in person. Collaborative projects don’t get much bigger than this one!
