Maria Kozak + Colfax Community Network

In Residence: March 18 – May 09, 2013Exhibition: May 09, 2013Learning Lab: Colfax Community NetworkDuring her residency, Maria Kozak is leading intensive Learning Lab sessions with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade youth from Colfax Community Network. The youth joined Maria during a field trip to the Wild Animal Sanctuary where they observed live wild animals in a natural setting. The students learned drawing and painting techniques, observed taxidermied birds and skeletons, and then drew and sketched from their imagination. Their final project is a take on the early 20th century surrealist parlor game, ‘exquisite corpses,’ in which youth blindly collaborate to produce several paintings of fantastical composite figures. The children of Colfax Community Network (CCN) live with their families in low-income, transient housing (primarily residential motels) along East Colfax Avenue. By providing information, services, and programs, CCN strengthens and improves the quality of life for these families. Children, especially, suffer in this environment, dramatically increasing their chances for poor health, low self-esteem, school failure, gang involvement, and violent victimization.

PlatteForum VolunteersSamantha Hyde, AmeriCorps, Lindy Hargrave, Rebecah Ziegler, Anita Rodriguez-Harman, Ryan Gilmartin, Chris Nelson, Chloé Jarisch

CCN VolunteersEric Benson, Lindsay Anderson, Alisondra Stephenson, Kendal McMaster, Connor McMaster, Grace Adams, Justine Ahle, Kathryn Roman, James Roman, Tami Jones, Kayla Swenson

Special thanks to:Larry & Susan Writer-Hamil, Jeff Stephenson + John Demboski, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Sippin n’ Painting, McLoughlin‘s Restaurant and Bar, Whole Foods Market-Cherry Creek, Stacey + Winston Schultz, Terry Cohen, Jon Cox, Saira Apadoca, Cindy Haner, Lindsay Jordheim, HDNET Movies