Adinkra Symbology Environmental Installation in Humboldt Illinois

Treatment and Learning Center, Humboldt

Dave Logsdon, Principal; Amy Wettig & Rich Holtz, coordinating teachers, Sean Fairchild (Tarble Arts Center-assistant).

Installation- the students began the residency today by painting spirit flags using Adinka Symbology. This workshop was conducted by Caryl Henry Alexander, during "the land" retreat in Auburn California. We will use the banners as spirit flags, and install them in the environmental installation.

Week Four, December 9-12th, on Monday, Dec, 9th we had a snow day, the school was closed, so we have to double on workshops to make enough art for the school installation. Today we made spirit flags and started painting our symbols on cardboard.

Adinkra Symbology

The Origin and Meaning of Adinkra Symbols

The adinkra symbols represent popular proverbs and maxims, record historical events, express particular attitudes or behavior related to depicted figures, or concepts uniquely related to abstract shapes.
Adinkra, originally produced by the Gyaaman clans of the Brong region, was the exclusive right of royalty and spiritual leaders, and only used for important ceremonies such as funerals – adinkra means 'goodbye'.

The area is considered rural and economically depressed. The ethnic composition of the schools involved (average of all schools) is 92.6% White, 2.23% African American, 1.3% Latino, .7% Asian, .23% Native American, and 2.9% Multiracial. Participants include students with disabilities and impairments mainstreamed into the classes with whom I worked. There are no art teachers at the school, so the students and staff were really excited about the AIR coming to their community.

The Tarble Arts Center, an AAM accredited museum, is a community arts center and Eastern Illinois University’s art museum. The Tarble is located in Charleston, a rural community of 21,500 (including E.I.U. students), 190 miles south of Chicago in east-central Illinois. The residency is funded by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, by participating schools, the Coles County Arts Council, and Tarble membership contributions.