Kira Carrillo Corser has worked as a photojournalist and photographic artist for over 15 years. She has published and exhibited nationally. Her work has been in the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego; The Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, Arizona; The Ansel Adams Gallery, Friends of Photography in San Francisco and the Smithsonian
in Washington D.C.
She worked as Head of Still Photography for Public Broadcasting in San Diego for 10 years. She taught “Arts and Community” for 8 years in Service Learning and worked as a “Visual Art Consultant specializing in Visual Literacy with Capstone Students” in Human Communications at CSUMB.
Awards and Grants include: The National Endowment for the Arts, The Irvine Foundation Art Grant, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, The California Council for the Arts, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The California Wellness Foundation and a California State Senate Award for Excellence in Social and Artistic Collaboration.”
Projects have exhibited nationally in: art galleries, museums, universities, national conferences, in 19 states, including capital buildings and in the U.S. Congress in Washington D.C. Work has also been part of Public Broadcasting programs, and also in CNN and NBC Broadcasts with President Clinton’s Town Meeting, radio and TV interviews and a video produced at Stanford multimedia titled “Weaving a Vision: Two Artists for Social Change.”
Corser and poet, Frances Payne Adler have collaborated in 4 major photography-poetry traveling exhibitions
and 3 books: A Matriot’s Dream: Health Care For All; When The Bough Breaks: Pregnancy and the Legacy of Addiction; Struggle To Be Borne; and Home Street Home.” In addition, Corser designed and organized 2 year community project titled “Visual Voices: Threat of the Dam.” This includes a website.
Kira Carrillo Corser’s art goals: (1) To produce individual and/or collaborative works with artists and/or nonprofit organizations that aid and promote social justice or wellness and healing and (2) To consult or teach individual and collaborative projects using art as a compelling force for social action and visual literacy at the university or community levels.
Past art projects were used to educate community leaders, elected representatives, and the public on social issues such as: health care, homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse and the cycle of addiction and abuse, immigration and bilingual education, welfare reform, pesticide abuse and pollution/environmental debates. Recent work includes video/art projects helping children with anger reduction and wellness for children and breast cancer.
Over 15 years experience working with coalitions, universities, legislators, and national/local non-profit organizations. Books have been published and distributed nationally many nonprofits, including the HBO Comic Relief Programs; the National Red Cross; the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; San Diego State University; and NewSage Press
and the Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition. Artist/ Educator San Diego, California
KiraCorser@gmail.com • www.KiraCorser.com • 510.684.4651
Starts March 3rd
Hello Creative Visionaries,
I am looking forward to our first discussion online, and excited to be part of our growing Art to Change the World vision! I feel this is an important time for artists to collaborate and reach millions with powerful, transformative art.
The discussion I am leading is focused on:
Introducing New Ideas connecting Art, Climate Change and Human Rights.
NOTE: I would like to feature others on our Sea Changes Team or Posts For Peace and Justice Facebook Pages and www.seachanges.org and www.postsforpeaceandjustice websites.
So please do contact me if you are interested?
What is the SEA CHANGES ACT PROJECT?
In 2012, I formed a grant-funded, collaborative project with 7 scientists and 7 artists. This grew to include schools, other nonprofits, and community participation. We invite global artists and others concerned to join us. Our work focuses on: plastic pollution clogging our oceans, Climate Change killing our coral reefs, the consequences of overfishing, and how human rights is connected. Our first funder was The San Diego Arts Network. They helped immensely with organizing, outreach, etc. One example is the Catalog from the DNA of Creativity Grant Initiative: http://www.sdvisualarts.net/sdvan_new/pdf/dnacat.pdf
Scientists on my team felt “a large part of the general population doesn’t understand what’s going on with Climate Change,” and that “scientists have not done a good job of reaching people.” So our outreach joined research with ideas by musicians, poets, painters, animators, and other new media artists.
How?
Here is how we reached the public in innovative ways.
- Outcomes include: an exhibition with Virtual Undersea Experiences at the Oceanside Museum of Art, in the Museum of Monterey, CA and for 800 public legislators and scientists at a Ca State Forum on Climate Change, Sacramento, CA.
- We also have exhibited in libraries, schools, at NOAA, and CA Fish and Wildlife Offices( to encourage scientists to include the arts) and created Lesson Plans for teachers.
- Our biggest accomplishments: Because of my work, First Night Monterey decided to do 2-years of outreach and New Year’s Celebrations focused on Sea Changes! I created video projections including facts, animation and artistic imaagery, and invited others to collaborate. We projected on buildings, walls of silk and mirrored ocean reflections, with community art participation and shadow puppets used to dissimulate climate and ocean research data and sustain commitment to conservation, asking questions of scientists, creating Fish Masks with kids, teens, parents while discussing recycling and understanding of Climate Change, etc.
- This art reached hundreds of kids and teachers in 12 schools and thousands of people on New Year’s Eve two years in a row.
- Ten thousand more have seen our website, Facebook page and I did a YouTube music video seen by over 7,000. His song titled And the Earth Bleeds, influenced my art.(Working with musician Erik Scott, formally with Alice Cooper)
This work was transformed into 2 films titled: Save the Earth, and projected onto the front of the Monterey Conference Center, plus 5 videos projected onto silks transforming 2 large rooms into under ocean experiences inside the building! This included animation by faculty and students from Cal State University Monterey Bay of whales and dolphins.
- Recently, I worked collaboratively combining Sea Changes with the www.PostsForPeaceAndJustice in partnership with the U.S. Human Rights Network and the Carter Center connecting CLIMATE AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES!
Why did I start the SeaChanges.org Project?
- My concerns about the health of our and my love of the amazing undersea life INVISIBLE to most people. One of my good friends is Senior Marine Biologist for CA Fish and Wildlife and her research was showing how overfishing was decimating fish in Monterey Bay, CA. At the same time, Climate Change was causing ACIDIFICATION and PLASTIC was in the national and world news. I have 30 years of documented impacts from my work. It is time for more artists to understand and use the power of compassion, understanding, and emotion for social and environmental justice.
Kira Carrillo Corser
www.PostsforPeaceandJustice.org
Facebook: POSTS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.kiracorser.com
www.ArtConnectingCommunities.org
510.684.4651 cell