As we prepare to launch our weekly virtual workshops, we thought it might be worth taking a little trip back to where this whole thing started.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be revisiting some of the original blog entries from the early days of Made Collaborative — back when this was little more than an idea, a handful of participating artists, and a willingness to see what might happen if we brought some young people into the creative process.
A lot has changed since then. What began as a modest youth outreach initiative has gradually evolved into a collaborative comic book project, complete with its own fictional universe, an expanding cast of characters, and a growing collection of virtual tools designed to invite others into the creative process.
But the underlying idea remains much the same.
We hope these early reflections provide a little context for where we’ve been, what we’re building today, and why we’re still at it.
So, with that in mind, here’s our first entry.
An origin story, if you will …
By Jimmy Briseno
See that guy at the top of this blog entry? I guess that’s me, Jimmy Briseno, as depicted by participating artist John Golden sometime before this project began.
Looks like I’m deep in thought.
About what? Who the hell knows.
I could be contemplating just how incredible it is that all of us on this bus – with our own unique ancestral journeys through the ages – somehow find ourselves sharing this fleeting moment together, against all conceivable odds…
Or I could be wondering why my hometown Chicago Bulls don’t run more motion offense to create spacing for their perimeter shooters.
Both thoughts (and countless others) are equally likely to be occupying space in my mind at any given moment – sometimes seemingly at the same time.
And that’s me in a nutshell.
My mind is a complete mess.
And unfortunately, I spend a lot of time there.
Back then, during those many bus rides home through Chicago, I was consumed by my job as a corporate attorney. Not because I loved it, but because my company had spent several years navigating corporate acquisitions and divestitures. More than anything, I think I was desperately searching for some semblance of work-life balance, which naturally resulted in even more daydreaming than usual.
At the same time, Chicago’s crime, corruption, and budget woes frequently dominated the headlines. There was plenty of negative energy to absorb, and that also inevitably occupied some space in my mind during those rides home.
Even then, however, I never viewed those problems as necessarily unique to Chicago. Many of our urban communities face similar challenges – problems that defy easy political soundbites or any single solution. And somewhere in the middle of those bus rides, I found myself wondering what someone like me – a guy with no particularly noteworthy skill whatsoever – could even do to help.
It was this line of introspection that often led me to think more about my rather ordinary life. Although I may not have been especially passionate about my work at the time, nor accomplished anything of particular note, I was nonetheless self-aware enough to know that I was lucky. Particularly whenever I looked back on my own childhood.
Purely as a statistic, my odds of achieving any measurable success out of the gate probably weren’t great. My dad was an absent and volatile figure who would ultimately lose his soul to drugs and mental illness. And as a kid, I grew up in a neighborhood not completely unlike many of those generating the headlines in Chicago.
But that’s where my journey along any statistical probability path abruptly ends.
The lucky part for me was that I had an extraordinary Mom who worked tirelessly to provide a comfortable life for the two of us, along with the love and support of my Grandparents and Godparents. Because of them, I found myself experiencing an entirely different set of life circumstances.
Even so, I still remembered what it felt like as a young kid to be shaped, in large part, by the external expectations of my neighborhood and early circumstances – particularly when those expectations were often negative.
And that’s when it hit me during one of those many bus rides home.
Why not develop some sort of youth outreach initiative that could help facilitate some little creative sparks, however modest?
I’d always believed creativity was undervalued. Even in the corporate world that I was immersed (trapped) in, the ability to think a little outside the box could lead to enormous dividends – in some cases, quite literally. And I was even more convinced that creativity was essential in fields like public service and science.
The irony, of course, is that programs promoting creativity within our urban communities always seem to be among the first sacrificed when budgets become tight. And the more I thought about it during those bus rides home, the more convinced I became that there had to be an opportunity to do something.
I myself experienced firsthand how being exposed to other people’s ideas could be incredibly empowering. Those little external sparks allow you to begin envisioning a world that transcends your own reality, whatever that reality may be. And that’s when new possibilities begin to emerge from within.
And perhaps more than anything, beyond youth empowerment, budget cuts, and Chicago’s headlines, I thought doing something that encouraged creativity could be fun. Maybe I could light a few much-needed creative sparks of my own. And as my mind wandered on those many bus rides home – whether contemplating the serendipity of life or the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls – it became increasingly apparent that I simply needed a little more fun in my life.
Armed with that motivation during one of those many bus rides home in that winter, I finally decided to give it a go. I didn’t have a specific plan beyond recruiting a handful of local artists to collaborate with urban youth the following summer. I figured we’d simply see what emerged from that collaborative process and take it from there.
Little did I know, as I stepped off the bus that fateful winter evening with that very simple idea in mind, the origin story of this little comic-based collaborative project had just begun.
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book. iPad/iPhone users, submit images from FILES (NOT from Photo Library).
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
Collaborate with professional artists by contributing some artwork of your own! Some special pieces may be selected to appear in the Back of the Yards comic book.
UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES BELOW
