The I AM: Projects works world-wide to provide opportunities for people of all ages, especially children, to explore identity through arts education, filmmaking, and storytelling. Since 2010, the projects have served more than 3,000 individuals in 25 countries.
Based on the belief that everyone has the right to meaningful creative experiences, the I AM: Projects partner with organizations that support marginalized, underserved, or under-recognized groups in both rural and urban communities. Collaboratively, we design a curriculum that addresses socially and culturally relevant needs while celebrating the value and potential of each participant as a unique person. Through drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry, music, photography, and filmmaking, participants work on their own and together to create works of art that express feelings, affirm identities, and advocate for change. Each project culminates with a public exhibition where the community is invited to recognize and learn from the works and stories presented.
Photographs, artworks, and films have been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, and contemporary art centers in cities including Mumbai, Addis Ababa, Tel Aviv, Milan, Ulan Bator, Sao Paulo, Cannakale, Sarajevo, Beirut, Lisbon, and New York. The 2013 project, I AM: Mongolia is the subject of the award-winning documentary film, Water, Ice, Snow (2013 dir. Karim Raoul).
In the United States, the I AM: Projects extend their reach into public schools and social welfare organizations to engage youth in similar projects that encourage cultural awareness, international exchange, and diverse understanding.
DIRECTOR/FOUNDER
Sasha Sicurella is a Canadian arts education specialist, photographer, and filmmaker who has taught art to people ages 1-100 within a variety of schools, museums, social services organizations, and educational settings. She is currently the Director of Education at Art Omi in Ghent, NY where she develops and implements public, arts-based programming for the local community. She is a content consultant for kahani, an international publication for and by girls. Sasha collaborates with arts educators, writers, cultural actors, and social workers to practice continuous learning in art pedagogy, research, and creative exchange. Sasha holds a BFA from the University of British Columbia and an MFA from New York University. As a believer that access to the arts can transform communities, she is passionate about supporting the next generation of makers, creators, thinkers, and dreamers.