KAPA‘A — Two single moms are uniting visual and performance art in a new creative arts center, Me Myself and I, A Creative Mecca. Located in Kapa‘a on Kukui Street, the graffiti-strewn facade is the first indication something slightly urban
KAPA‘A — Two single moms are uniting visual and performance art in a new creative arts center, Me Myself and I, A Creative Mecca.
Located in Kapa‘a on Kukui Street, the graffiti-strewn facade is the first indication something slightly urban is infiltrating the Eastside.
Former New Yorkers Kate Silliman and Marisol Carranza will celebrate their grand opening at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 with a showcase of visual and performance arts. Classes kick off this week, though, with Zumba and hip-hop for both adults and children. (See insert at lower left for times.)
When Silliman and Carranza met playing roller derby they recognized their shared vision for both a creative-arts culture and a healthy venue for youth.
“For me it’s about giving kids a choice,” Silliman said. “We are providing a space where people can make their dreams come true.”
On the performance side of the programming is Mecca DanceKool founder, Carranza, a 16-year resident and co-founder of Kaua‘i Underground Artists. As a long-time hip-hop artist and teacher, Carranza will offer adult and keiki hip-hop classes as well as Zumba, a Latin-infused fitness routine.
“We want to reach kids as teenagers,” Carranza said. “We are here to transform lives through the art of dance.”
Visual-arts classes to be led by Silliman include sculpture, collage, book-making and figure-drawing with live models.
“Me, Myself and I will work with (youth) in developing their own individual creative voices through any medium they are interested in,” Silliman said.
Having taken a brief hiatus from her own art while nurturing two children and a relationship, this San Francisco Art Institute graduate realized when her marriage dissolved she’d neglected a big part of what makes her who she is — art.
“My art died,” she said. “I’d stopped feeding myself; thus the name, ‘Me, Myself and I.’”
But the creative Mecca she intends to build is not about her. “I am creating a space for others to create in,” she said.
This brightly-lit, mirror-lined room with aerosol murals by O‘ahu artist East Three will soon be a center for everything from culinary arts and surfboard shapers to poetry slams and fine art.
“I want to find mentors in our community to pair up with kids in our community,” she said.
Having taught in programs such as Circles of Light and the Boys & Girls Club, Silliman is open to any form of expression that empowers children. “My doors are open to the young, the old and the ageless,” she said. “I’d like to use this space as a social forum for a little bit of change.”
For more information e-mail edumakate3@gmail.com or call 635-1160.
What: Zumba
When: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 8:30 to 9:30a.m. Tuesday, Thursday
What: Hip-hop
When: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday; 4 to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday (12 andunder)
