Mountaintops is an artistic workshop designed for elementary school children that celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. while pushing participants to dream beyond what they can see and to aspire for what appears out of reach. Drawing upon the 1968 speech in which King states, ”I’ve been to the Mountaintop” the workshop has three intertwined activities that take on the language of sculptural installation and the performance qualities. The workshop involves the creation of a painted 360° mountain landscape, a series of topographic mountains atop wooden posts and the creation of a climbing surface. Reflecting upon Martin Luther King’s legacy, the three elements examine the meaning of dreams and ambition, the importance of leadership and techniques for overcoming obstacles.

From where I stand: Investigating the ideas of creating our own hurdles the first element of the workshop is dedicated to the realization of the freestanding 360 landscape painting. A freestanding series of posts will support a cardboard range of mountaintops cut out and painted by the participants of the workshop. This range will be attached to the top of the supporting posts placing the participants in the center of a small space surrounded by mountains of their own creation. A range of colors will imagine the cool sunrise on one side and the warm sunset on the other. It takes a village: Examining the form of topographic maps, and the symbolic power of staffs this work involves the casting of a small mountain range in plaster that is mounted atop a wooden post to create a staff. Only when all staffs are placed together do we have a mountain range. This element emphasizes the importance of leadership and the simultaneous importance of collaboration and community. The Climb: The last element of the workshop is about overcoming obstacles. It involves the affixing of a series of custom rock climbing holds to a wooden mountain shaped wall and the exploration of climbing this form. A series of rock climbing holds created by the artist are attached to the surface of the mountain each one placed based on the choices of the participants. Once assembled participants climb this wall learning some of the tricks and techniques of rock climbing.