![A hand holding a marker coloring in a portrait of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, an African-American figure wearing an 18th-century French-style army uniform.](https://www.icaboston.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/francies-workshop-imagehaitian-heros-copy-754x620.png)
Workshop by author Francie Latour
Some people call it the original Black Lives Matter movement. Author Francie Latour from the racial justice project Wee The People takes us on a trip to one of her favorite places, Haiti. She’ll read from her book Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings, and teach us about the heroes of the Haitian Revolution, whose rebellion inspired Black resistance movements around the world. We’ll learn about four freedom fighters who broke the chains of slavery. |
Video recording of a virtual workshop with Francie Latour
This workshop took place on Zoom on June 25, 2021, as part of Play Date: Summer Stories: Chapter 1.
Explore related ICA Watershed exhibition by artist Firelei Báez who through her newest sculpture she reimagines the archeological ruins of the Sans-Souci Palace in Haiti. |
Find upcoming Play Date events on our ICA Kids calendar and more activities to do as a family on our Art Lab page!
Author Bio Francie Latour is a mother, writer, educator, and radical truth-teller. She co-founded and directs Wee The People, a pioneering social justice project based in Boston. She’s the author of the prize-winning children’s book Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings, a story of Haitian identity and heritage told through the eyes of a young Haitian-American girl. |
Beautiful artwork can inspire great stories. Write and illustrate your own story inspired by the artwork you find during your visit to the ICA or in the online collection at www.icaboston.org/collection. Use the artwork as a source of inspiration for your story. |
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Instructions:
If exploring virtually, browse ICA collection artworks. If at the ICA, explore the galleries. Have a question about an artwork? Ask a Visitor Assistant in the galleries! Using the Story-making Prompts, choose artworks that will help inspire your story and make a quick sketch of each of the artworks you choose in the table to the right. Using the artworks from your exploration as inspiration, write your short story. |
Story-making Prompt |
Example |
Which artwork will you choose? Create a sketch of your chosen piece. |
Who or what is your main character? Choose one artwork to inspire who the main character of your story is. |
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Where is your main character? Choose one artwork to inspire the setting of the beginning of your story. |
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Where is your character going? Choose one artwork to inspire a journey your character will take. |
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Your character may come across an obstacle or face a problem along their journey. Choose one artwork to inspire the obstacle or problem. |
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How does your character handle the obstacle or solve the problem? Choose one artwork to inspire the resolution and ending of your story |
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Create an illustration for your story, using your sketches as reference. Share your artwork on social media with #ICAartlab or email us your photos at familyprograms@icaboston.org. |
Artwork credits:
Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2009. Mixed media, 97 × 26 × 20 inches (246.4 × 66 × 50.8 cm). Gift of Steve Corkin and Dan Maddalena. Photo by James Prinz Photography. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. © Nick Cave
Kader Attia, Oil and Sugar #2 (still), 2007. Single-channel video (color, sound; 4:30 minutes). Gift of James and Audrey Foster. Tate Modern, London. Purcahsed using funds provided by the Middle East North Africa Acquisitions Committee 2010. Courtesy the artist; Galerie Nagel Draxler, Cologne and Berlin; and Lehmann Maupin, New York, and Hong Kong. © Kader Attia
Ambreen Butt, Multiplicité, from the series Cirque du Monde, 2007. Watercolor, white gouache and thread on Mylar, and handmade paper, 15 × 12 inches (38.1 × 30.5 cm). Promised gift of James and Audrey Foster. Courtesy the artist. © Ambreen Butt
Liz Deschenes, Green Screen #4, 200½016. Double-laminated inkjet print on Duratrans, 183 × 71 inches (464.8 × 180.3 cm). Acquired through the generosity of Erica Gervais and Ted Pappendick. Installation view, Blue Screen Process, Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York, 2001. Courtesy the artist and Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York. © Liz Deschenes
Ruth Root, Untitled, 2016. Plexiglas, fabric, enamel, and spray paint, 94 ¾ × 48 inches (241 × 122 cm). Gift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York; Hassam, Speicher, Betts and Symons Funds, 2018. Courtesy the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. © Ruth Root