This week, I finally got to check out Conceiving Place at YBCA amongst other cool, thought provoking exhibits. Prior to visiting it, I had never heard of the term, "Civic Engagement" but I made the assumption that it was related to communities building something together...
Before the visit:
The easiest way to explain what Civic Engagement is to relate to your own community. Have you ever heard or seen people in your neighborhood/city/or in the Bay Area come together and and work towards a common goal to better their standard of living or to tackled a politically bent issue by protesting, making a petition, etc? That's exactly what it is and is often used to explain activism done by young people.
Civic Engagement to me, is a community learning how to work together and refusing to coexist with oppression by using their voices! It's all about getting recognition for their feats and to help change perceptions.
Have I had prior experience with the idea? Well, if it does count, I did work at a polling place junior year and vowed that I never would again. The volunteers who came in to promote the politicians they supported and numerous obvious questions about how to vote exhausted me and I didn't feel like I was contributing to a greater good.
So without further ado, some important points I searched hard for:
Something that made me smile:
In a sense, I felt both overjoyed and and relieved that many others are aware of what gentrification is doing to urban areas in the US and share the common feeling of hopelessness when it comes to how much you can do for your own community alone.
Something that made me question my understanding of Civic Engagement:
Prison culture?? In what way could a community prevent that? From stats to documentaries I've read, incarceration is often times more the fault of the government than the men of color imprisoned. By marginalizing a community, tension and violence erupts and hurts the people leading to a continuous cycle of it.
Something that frustrated me:
I've heard the term generational trauma before and I'd like to get to the bottom of what it is and how exactly, it affects individuals. One example that is clear cut to me is the prevalence of alcoholism in many Native American communities and has shaped the DNA of the members, being passed down from parent to child. I also wonder how such a cycle can be ended.
Something relates to my work at the Museum:
Creating a safe space! Like the Asian, YBCA did a great job of cultivating a relaxing, comfortable environment for visitors to express ideas, worries, and how to make a change. Both institutions also encourage intergenerational interaction through art and discussion and make a point of displaying political art without having a clear bias of what they think is right or wrong, but leave everything up to the visitor's interpretation.
Something I want to learn more about:
I know virtually nothing about the Native American students who occupied Alcatraz in the late 60's-early 70's other than the fact that it was ended the event by cutting off the power supply. I'm interested in how it has benefited Native American communities today and how non-Indigenous Americans reacted, in support of the issue or not.
After my visit:
Although I had never heard of the term, the content of the exhibit led me realizing I knew exactly what Civic Engagement is. I think I developed a deeper understanding of how communities are marginalized and sense of respect for the many historical instances where people have defied that. I'll admit that I was disappointed to see how small the exhibit was, almost as if it held no relevance. Even the employee at the ticket desk had never heard of it, ironically. That just goes to show how unimportant such matters in are in our society and why we have to educate ourselves and not rely what we're told. Overall, it was an interesting experience and I enjoyed YBCA as a whole.
Samya