If for some reason you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and haven’t gotten familiar with Mother Nature, now is the time to do so. The hip-hop duo have brought a new buzz to Champaign-Urbana that hasn’t been here for quite some time.
Outside of their musical contributions, however, Mother Nature also has a strong passion for community work, and have just announced their first ever Youth Workshop Series, which will be open to all kids aged 13-18.
From the Facebook Event:
Event: The Miseducation of Hip-Hop
Location: The Independent Media Center
Dates: June 6th-June 10th 2016
Time: 2PM – 4PM
Ages: 13-18 yrs oldFREE
This workshop teaches the elements of Hip-Hop and applies it to our community as a vehicle for social justice, a resource for knowledge and a constant exchange of critical thought. We aim to organize, engage and explore the creative genius of our youth through Hip-Hop culture and its relationship to our past, present and future. This workshop is open to high school and middle school students, ages 13-18 year olds, inclusive of all backgrounds and experiences.
Each group of students will create a project that will serve as a solution and/or voice to the subject they felt most connected to. They will be given time to collaborate with professional artists, who will teach something they know. Mother Nature has a collective network of emcees, writers, DJ’s, dancers, painters, designers, educators, engineers and activists. We can facilitate students’ learning as they delve deeper into their own identities and produce fresh ideas to share with the collective through the use of media, instruments, technology, recording equipment, resource and professional expertise.
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Mother Nature, Inc. is a nonprofit organization. Mother Nature is being formed to provide community outreach grounded in HipHop scholarship and performance with a focus on the youth. We plan to offer workshops and activities centered around social and political issues to educate our generation on the pertinent matters that affect their daily lives. By putting these grand topics into the universal language of HipHop, youth and young adults alike are able to more easily connect to the policies and laws being implemented that affect them. All workshops will focus on a central theme accompanied by a creative activity related to the 5 elements of HipHop (emceeing, deejaying, graffiti, dance & knowledge).
The two founding members, both artist-educators are uniquely qualified to bring this vision into fruition. Shasta Mathews, holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Tierney Reed, holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Health Administration and Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Photo by Kelsey Greene