Earlier this year Abovegroup Ogilvy coordinated a program with Wendell McShine, Coconut Growers Association (CGA) and the art students of Success Laventille Secondary School called Art Connect. The program involved McShine teaching the students various levels of visual artistic expression, allowing them to explore their talents through workshops and by engaging in a series of visual installations around the community.
To date, the most visually engaging aspect is the mural painted on the CGA wall along the Eastern Main Road. In addition to sponsoring the project, CGA also donated a substantial section of their front wall to be used as a canvas, thus allowing McShine and students from the school to embark on the creation of a public art installation. The installation is a collaboration of their individual paintings that fluidly transition into each other, expressing a narrative through organic shapes and vivid color.
In addition to capturing various aspects of the creative process from its inception, the entire Art Connect project was thoroughly documented by film director Miquel Galofré and made into a film ‘Art Connect in Laventille’. The film, soon to be released, is an in-depth exploration into the Art Connect project, highlighting the unique experiences and the impact the inspirational project had on individual students. Take a look at the latest trailer for the film.
We also created portraits of the students in their exuberance, producing their own public signatures for the live audience of pedestrians and commuters of mid day traffic.
Garvin Mortley and Akiler Holder
Anna Campbell and Ateion Jones
Maliq Noel and Sherise Jones
Isis Gerry and Salif Calliste
Posted in ArtCommunity OutreachPhotographyVideo on 30th Nov 2011
In a monumental effort to create discussion around sustainability issues in Trinidad and Tobago, Sustain T&T will present “GREEN SCREEN” The Environmental Film Series(EFS). The first eco-motivated series of it’s kind here; “GREEN SCREEN” will be a spring-board to encourage awareness, discourse and action surrounding environmental matters, both local and global.
From October 7th to the 18th the EFS will show award-winning environmental films from around the globe. With the supporting sponsorship of Abovegroup Ogilvy it will capture a large cross section of the population by taking advantage of social media positioning. For the run of the series, Abovegroup Ogilvy will have a direct role in the outcome of the event series as the Social Media Manager for the “GREEN SCREEN” campaign. Indeed, the effort is worthwhile as the series boasts films with all the the environmental heroism, innovation and discovery needed for the behavioural change that is paramount to our continued existence on this planet.
The Environmental Film Series truly aims to use the medium of film entertainment to contribute positively to the sustainable living movement here in Trinidad and Tobago. The slated films are very relevant to the movement in Trinidad and Tobago with a bias towards stories that take place regionally or along the tropical belt. Films such as “There Once Was an Island” and “Andros: Living Off the Land and Sea” feature people and communities comparable to many of ours. Rounding out the screenings is the 2009 Academy Award Winning Documentary “The Cove”, in which director Louis Psihoyos proceeds to mount one of the most audacious and perilous operations in the history of the conservation movement; concealed under-water cameras and all.
Images from the documentary “Home” from the Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Images from the documentary “Home” from the Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Images from the documentary “Home” from the Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Posted in Community OutreachVideo on 30th Sep 2011
Has anyone noticed the extension of ArtConnect’s mural on the Eastern Main Road yet? If not well make sure to check the bold mural splashed on the walls of the Coconut Growers Association (CGA) along the Eastern Main Road.
It is a distinctive mural; filled with radiant colors shaped into figures, patterns, and abstract designs; are stories told through art by local children that reside in the surrounding area.
Twelve students from Success Laventille Secondary School (SLSS) took part in one of Wendell McShine’s Art Connect dynamic community projects. The visual artist and animator guided the students through a hands-on learning experience designed to provide them with contemporary art skills and knowledge of urban and community art. Simultaneously, the mural project offered the students an opportunity to express their inner voice and talents. Together, they all embarked on series of workshops to create a mural with the intent to establish an ongoing visual dialogue between the walls and the residents of Laventille.
If they had known that they would be toiling in the scorching sun for hours whilst painting the walls along the Eastern Main Road, they probably would have thought twice about partaking in this project. But never did they imagine the exhilaration of having their artistry displayed in a public masterpiece on one of T&T’s busiest roads.
A student’s mother gushes, “Every time I pass the wall I tell everybody in the maxi, ‘my son painted this!’”
The entire initiative was funded by the CGA and coordinated by Abovegroup Ogilvy. After forming a close relationship with SLSS and the artist Shine, the mural programme was launched with the aim to foster creative positive change within the local community.
Murals bring art into a community to be enjoyed by residents and passers-by. Apart from the aesthetic improvements, murals often enhance a stronger sense of pride and respect within the community, contributing to the overall well-being of the inhabitants. So the next time you pass the CGA wall, take a gander. It should brighten your day.
If you have been passing on the Eastern Main Road on your daily commute, and been wondering what in the world is that huge abstract painting on the wall of CGA, opposite Success Laventille Secondary School, never fear, it’s not the vandals.
The large piece was done by Trinidad born artist Wendell McShine as a part of his Art Connect initiative, co-ordinated by Abovegroup Ogilvy.
Art Connect is an urban art project, where the students of Success Laventille Secondary School, together with McShine embark on a series of dynamic highly creative community murals in an on going visual dialogue on the walls of Laventille donated by Coconut Growers Association (CGA).
I went out with Mc Shine this week to capture the process of creating this stunning mural. It is the first of many pieces to be done on that space in the coming weeks.
Posted in ArtCommunity Outreach on 16th Jun 2011
Check out our growing family
Mindshare
We are affiliates of Mindshare, the global leader in media planning and strategy. That's why we offer the best media solutions in the country.
AGO Talent - Become part of T&T’s Best and Brightest Talent
Our multi-versatile database of Trinidad and Tobago’s best and brightest talent, boasts of models, photographers, radio announcers, singers and actors ranging in age between 3 months to 70 years! Join us!
Creative thinking and a bit of drinking
Show & Tell is a monthly event hosted by Abovegroup Ogilvy in our studio. Speakers come from a range of backgrounds and interests. Admission is free and the atmosphere is easy.
Garvin Mortley and Akiler Holder
Anna Campbell and Ateion Jones
Maliq Noel and Sherise Jones
Isis Gerry and Salif Calliste
