Teacher goes back to school
Donation protected
Introduction:
Hello, my name is Darryl King. I am an artist and for the past ten (10) years I have worked as a school educator throughout Los Angeles county. Despite the plight of this year, I am thankful because on March 18th I was accepted to the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) for the fall 2020 semester as an MFA candidate. I can remember that day vividly because there is nothing quite like the experience of opening a college acceptance letter to your dream school. There was lots of dancing around my apartment, some tears were definitely shed and I had an unusual feeling in my stomach. A feeling composed of both joyous wonder and looming financial worry. This eventually brought me to the crucial decision to start a crowdfunding campaign.
- Modeling a 4th-grade Visual Thinking Strategies discussion in Compton, CA.
- Modeling a Kindergarten Theatre exercise and singing the "Banana Song" in Hoopa Valley, CA.
My Story:
I am an introverted only child that grew into a tall, lanky, Black queer artist. That’s me, originally from Santa Ana, California. A native of Orange County, my area code will always remain (714). Since high school, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I went to UCLA where I received a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in education, along with a multi-subject teaching credential. My earliest teaching assignment was Kindergarten. I felt my proudest preparing young scholars for elementary school and watching them grow as creative thinkers. The arts were regularly integrated into my instruction because they helped create new entry points for my students that struggled to access concepts taught in a more traditional way. Today, I work as a Senior Program Manager of Educator Development for an arts-ed non-profit organization. I am still teaching but now I have committed myself to guide teachers and administrators to see the arts as an approach to leveraging whole-school change.
- Facilitating an arts-based teaching strategy training in Avenal, CA.
Art & Liberation:
The safety of Black people will always be my motivation for being an artist. In my current work, many of my figures exist in a world that is not yet but could be. This is evident in the vacant blank background they occupy. The known world is far too unsafe to draw but the unknown worlds, the ones yet uncovered, feel safer. As an artist, I have a duty to imagine a world where Black Lives Matter and create that world by any means necessary. You can follow my art on Instagram @4oremost.
- "Meet Me at the Door by the Garden" (detail), Mixed media on paper, 2020
- "Sun" (detail), Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 2019
- "Black Child" (detail), Mixed media on paper, 2018
- Short clip of my work on display in a gallery in East Los Angeles, CA, 2019
- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost +Tanya Lucia Bernard | Untitled | 2015
- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost | Untitled | 2016
- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost + BLMLA Youth | Untitled | 2019
- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost | "Overcome"| 2020
What I will explore at CalArts:
On this social justice journey at CalArts, it is my goal to answer the question “Can art save Black lives?” Not just mentally, or emotionally, but physical lives. I want to know if it can shield our bodies from bullets. If I want to answer this question, I not only want the answer to be an emphatic yes, I also want to actualize that yes right now! Art may not be able to cure those who have fallen ill or give breath to those who have had theirs stolen from them but I remain committed to saving the lives most at risk. This is where my art must go even further. Creating the unknown safe spaces and working with an architect to build portals of freedom. I will construct large-scale, site-specific environmental installations. Where the outcomes for Black folks are bathed in solace, loving positivity and the impact on our souls is restorative. I will continue to use my art as a tactic to assert our survival FOREMOST.
- "Eyes Wide Open" (detail), Oil on canvas, 2019
- "The Mothership" (detail) Liquid gel ink on paper, 2020
About CalArts:
Established in 1961 and located in Santa Clarita, CA. CalArts is considered to be one of the top art schools in the world. Founded by Walt Disney, CalArts offers comprehensive degree programs across the full range of the visual, performing, media and literary arts through its six Schools. Disney imagined CalArts as an all-inclusive community, where artists can look outside their own métiers and collaborate with each other, across conventional categories, to conjure new expressions. Admissions are decided primarily on artistic merit and creative promise. The institute itself is very selective. In 2019 the school had an acceptance rate of just 30.7 percent. Notable alumni include Tim Burton, Don Cheadle, Lauren Hasley, Daniel Chong, Mark Bradford, and Ed Harris.
Artist + Teacher = More Loans:
I received a Financial Aid award from CalArts, 33% of which are grants and 63% are student loans. The thought of taking additional student loans on top of the existing ones I have from my first graduate degree is enervating, to say the least. As an alternative to loans, nearly every dollar from my paychecks is put into a separate savings account. These savings from working will shortly come to an end because, in order to enter the MFA program as a full-time student, I will need to leave my job at the end of August. To this date, I have also applied to over twenty (20) private scholarships, collected from casual sales of my artwork, delivered for GrubHub on weekends and I am actively seeking advice from the CalArts’ Career Center regarding potential work-study opportunities to help pay for school. Still, with all of these resources tapped into, it will not be enough to cover the cost of my tuition nor expenses. I am asking for donations to ensure that I can go to CalArts and afford to live, without having to rely solely on student loan money. Any donations beyond covering my first-year school expenses will go toward helping me cover the costs for year-two of the graduate program. The first tuition payment is due Thursday, August 13th.
- Modeling the life cycle of a plant using pantomime and tableau with 1st-graders in Inglewood, CA
- Co-leading a Science + Dance workshop at a national retreat in Warrenton, VA.
- Supporting a family during a community art-making session in Compton, CA
- Modeling a 6th-grade lesson on the use of tableau in Paramount, CA
Education in the Time of COVID:
Classes for the fall semester begin September 14th. CalArts is rethinking just how students will take courses, engage with faculty, and collaborate with fellow artists amid the coronavirus pandemic. A hybrid experience is proposed consisting of some virtual/distance learning and in-person access to key facilities, like studios and labs. While the details of this proposal remain somewhat fluid, the tuition, housing, and health fee amounts are firmly established. Here is what CalArts estimates the cost of attendance per year. Tuition: $52,850; Annual fees: $616; Housing: $11,926; Meals: $4,074; Books/Supplies: $1,000; Transportation: $2,000; Personal Expenses $3,000; Medical: $2,656;
- Painting an elementary school mural with local teaching artists in Lynwood, CA.
- Dancing at an elementary school's Latinx Heritage Festival in Watts, CA
Thank You:
Your donation will help me go to school and avoid incurring an even greater amount of student loan debt. I ask that you donate what you can and please share this fundraiser with your social networks. I appreciate your time and attention.
Hello, my name is Darryl King. I am an artist and for the past ten (10) years I have worked as a school educator throughout Los Angeles county. Despite the plight of this year, I am thankful because on March 18th I was accepted to the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) for the fall 2020 semester as an MFA candidate. I can remember that day vividly because there is nothing quite like the experience of opening a college acceptance letter to your dream school. There was lots of dancing around my apartment, some tears were definitely shed and I had an unusual feeling in my stomach. A feeling composed of both joyous wonder and looming financial worry. This eventually brought me to the crucial decision to start a crowdfunding campaign.
- Modeling a 4th-grade Visual Thinking Strategies discussion in Compton, CA. - Modeling a Kindergarten Theatre exercise and singing the "Banana Song" in Hoopa Valley, CA.
My Story:
I am an introverted only child that grew into a tall, lanky, Black queer artist. That’s me, originally from Santa Ana, California. A native of Orange County, my area code will always remain (714). Since high school, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I went to UCLA where I received a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in education, along with a multi-subject teaching credential. My earliest teaching assignment was Kindergarten. I felt my proudest preparing young scholars for elementary school and watching them grow as creative thinkers. The arts were regularly integrated into my instruction because they helped create new entry points for my students that struggled to access concepts taught in a more traditional way. Today, I work as a Senior Program Manager of Educator Development for an arts-ed non-profit organization. I am still teaching but now I have committed myself to guide teachers and administrators to see the arts as an approach to leveraging whole-school change.
- Facilitating an arts-based teaching strategy training in Avenal, CA. Art & Liberation:
The safety of Black people will always be my motivation for being an artist. In my current work, many of my figures exist in a world that is not yet but could be. This is evident in the vacant blank background they occupy. The known world is far too unsafe to draw but the unknown worlds, the ones yet uncovered, feel safer. As an artist, I have a duty to imagine a world where Black Lives Matter and create that world by any means necessary. You can follow my art on Instagram @4oremost.
- "Meet Me at the Door by the Garden" (detail), Mixed media on paper, 2020- "Sun" (detail), Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 2019- "Black Child" (detail), Mixed media on paper, 2018 - Short clip of my work on display in a gallery in East Los Angeles, CA, 2019
- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost +Tanya Lucia Bernard | Untitled | 2015- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost | Untitled | 2016- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost + BLMLA Youth | Untitled | 2019- Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles Banner | Foremost | "Overcome"| 2020What I will explore at CalArts:
On this social justice journey at CalArts, it is my goal to answer the question “Can art save Black lives?” Not just mentally, or emotionally, but physical lives. I want to know if it can shield our bodies from bullets. If I want to answer this question, I not only want the answer to be an emphatic yes, I also want to actualize that yes right now! Art may not be able to cure those who have fallen ill or give breath to those who have had theirs stolen from them but I remain committed to saving the lives most at risk. This is where my art must go even further. Creating the unknown safe spaces and working with an architect to build portals of freedom. I will construct large-scale, site-specific environmental installations. Where the outcomes for Black folks are bathed in solace, loving positivity and the impact on our souls is restorative. I will continue to use my art as a tactic to assert our survival FOREMOST.
- "Eyes Wide Open" (detail), Oil on canvas, 2019 - "The Mothership" (detail) Liquid gel ink on paper, 2020About CalArts:
Established in 1961 and located in Santa Clarita, CA. CalArts is considered to be one of the top art schools in the world. Founded by Walt Disney, CalArts offers comprehensive degree programs across the full range of the visual, performing, media and literary arts through its six Schools. Disney imagined CalArts as an all-inclusive community, where artists can look outside their own métiers and collaborate with each other, across conventional categories, to conjure new expressions. Admissions are decided primarily on artistic merit and creative promise. The institute itself is very selective. In 2019 the school had an acceptance rate of just 30.7 percent. Notable alumni include Tim Burton, Don Cheadle, Lauren Hasley, Daniel Chong, Mark Bradford, and Ed Harris.
Artist + Teacher = More Loans:
I received a Financial Aid award from CalArts, 33% of which are grants and 63% are student loans. The thought of taking additional student loans on top of the existing ones I have from my first graduate degree is enervating, to say the least. As an alternative to loans, nearly every dollar from my paychecks is put into a separate savings account. These savings from working will shortly come to an end because, in order to enter the MFA program as a full-time student, I will need to leave my job at the end of August. To this date, I have also applied to over twenty (20) private scholarships, collected from casual sales of my artwork, delivered for GrubHub on weekends and I am actively seeking advice from the CalArts’ Career Center regarding potential work-study opportunities to help pay for school. Still, with all of these resources tapped into, it will not be enough to cover the cost of my tuition nor expenses. I am asking for donations to ensure that I can go to CalArts and afford to live, without having to rely solely on student loan money. Any donations beyond covering my first-year school expenses will go toward helping me cover the costs for year-two of the graduate program. The first tuition payment is due Thursday, August 13th.
- Modeling the life cycle of a plant using pantomime and tableau with 1st-graders in Inglewood, CA- Co-leading a Science + Dance workshop at a national retreat in Warrenton, VA. - Supporting a family during a community art-making session in Compton, CA- Modeling a 6th-grade lesson on the use of tableau in Paramount, CA Education in the Time of COVID:
Classes for the fall semester begin September 14th. CalArts is rethinking just how students will take courses, engage with faculty, and collaborate with fellow artists amid the coronavirus pandemic. A hybrid experience is proposed consisting of some virtual/distance learning and in-person access to key facilities, like studios and labs. While the details of this proposal remain somewhat fluid, the tuition, housing, and health fee amounts are firmly established. Here is what CalArts estimates the cost of attendance per year. Tuition: $52,850; Annual fees: $616; Housing: $11,926; Meals: $4,074; Books/Supplies: $1,000; Transportation: $2,000; Personal Expenses $3,000; Medical: $2,656;
- Painting an elementary school mural with local teaching artists in Lynwood, CA.- Dancing at an elementary school's Latinx Heritage Festival in Watts, CA
Thank You:
Your donation will help me go to school and avoid incurring an even greater amount of student loan debt. I ask that you donate what you can and please share this fundraiser with your social networks. I appreciate your time and attention.
Organizer
Foremost King
Organizer
Long Beach, CA
