A Blade of Grass
Reports from the Field: SexEd
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
6 to 8pm
[Image Description: An index card that reads “when is the right time to have sex”.]
Artists Norene Leddy and Liz Slagus, also known as SexEd, initiated an artist residency at the school-based health center and developed an arts-based sexual health curriculum in collaboration with staff at Washington Irving High School in New York City. On May 12, 2015, they shared their experiences in a live version of ABOG's Reports from the Field initiative, which presents the voices of community participants and collaborators in ABOG Fellows' socially engaged art projects. Learn more in their online forum. This conversation featured Norene Leddy and Liz Slagus and project collaborators Caitlin Hanson, Cory Silverberg, and Bryana Williams. The panel was moderated by ABOG Programs Director Elizabeth Grady.
Bios
Norene Leddy and Liz Slagus have been collaborators since 2008, focusing on developing radical pedagogies that combine art, reproductive health, and participatory tools. Learn more: sexedproject.org
Caitlin Hanson, MA, is the Director of School Based Health and Adolescent Medicine at the Institute for Family Health. Hanson currently manages three School Based Health Centers in Manhattan, serving ten public schools including the Washington High School Campus. She began her work with the Institute in 2010, as the Community Outreach and Health Education for the Institute’s Washington Irving Campus Health Center. Before working with the Institute, Hanson spent four years working for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts in a variety of roles, from Grassroots Organizing & Political Action to Health Care Assistant to Central Massachusetts Outreach Coordinator.
Cory Silverberg is a sexuality educator, author, and public speaker, who was a founding member of the Come As You Are Co-operative. He received his Masters of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. He served as the chair of sexuality educator certification for the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT) and teaches on topics including sex and disability, sex and technology, and pleasure, inclusion, and access across North America. He is currently writing a series of three books for children about sexuality for Seven Stories Press. The second book, Sex Is a Funny Word, will be released in July 2015. Silverburg can be found online at sexuality.about.com, where he writes and blogs about sexual politics, education, culture, and health.
Bryana Williams is a Community HealthCorps member currently serving as an Adolescent Health Educator at the Washington Irving Campus. She has been working directly with SexEd in the classroom, cafeteria and after school outreach projects. She received her undergraduate education from Columbia University where she volunteered with Peer Health Exchange for four years, teaching alcohol awareness and sexual decision-making in NYC public schools.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Reports from the Field presents the voices of community participants and collaborators in ABOG Fellows' socially engaged art projects, both in-person and online. Learn more in the online forum.