WWW | World’s Worst Words: Engaging People in Social Change through Performance w/ Slanguage
This workshop, led by Karla Diaz from Slanguage, asks audiences to engage in examining performance by guiding students to explore negative words in contemporary pop culture. Diaz will introduce drop-in audiences to a variety of performance techniques that Slanguage members use to critically explore content and context in an effort for social change. Participants will learn and practice performance techniques based on theater practices and spoken  word. Please expect to be participating physically at the level that is comfortable for you, and dress accordingly for movement.

Founded in 2002 by Karla Diaz and Mario Ybarra, Jr., Slanguage is an artist group headquartered in Wilmington, California, a harbor area of Los Angeles.  Currently, members make artwork, curate exhibitions, coordinate events, and lead art-education workshops.  A diverse group at various points in their careers, Slanguage includes teenagers, street artists, and established mid – to late career artists, the majority of whom live and work in the greater Los Angeles area, especially Wilmington.

Slanguage bases their practice on a three-pronged approach to art-making to include education, community-building, and interactive exhibitions.  Focusing on art education, the collective has organized numerous artist residencies in museums across the United States and abroad. Fostering dialog about the meaning and value of contemporary art, Slanguage has used their studio space and resources to cultivate relationships between diverse artists, students, communities, and organizations. And, creating artworks that have ranged from multimedia installations to performances, public events, and workshops, the collective has enriched, inspired, and provoked viewers’ imaginations through local, national, and international exhibitions.

Slanguage’s recent projects include Engagement Party, a three-month residency with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2009); Sweeney Tate (2007) for the Tate Modern, London; and The Peacock Doesn’t See Its Own Ass/Let’s Twitch Again: Operation Bird Watching in London (2006) for the Serpentine Gallery, London. In 2009, the collective hosted workshops at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, as part of the Slanguage Teen Art Council.