CHAMPAIGN — For the last twenty years, SPEAK Cafe has partnered with Rantoul Township High School to give students an opportunity for artistic expression. The partnership, known as ArtSPEAK, aims to amplify students’ voices, according to local poet and event organizer Shaya Robinson.
Students are provided transportation to the monthly open mic night events and are encouraged to perform, workshop their pieces or simply come and take inspiration from community poets and artists.
“Just being able to see them open up and blossom has been a beautiful experience,” said Robinson. “Especially if they come back year after year, you really get to see their personality develop, and their poetry or their artwork develop.”
At the most recent SPEAK Cafe coffeehouse open mic night on Thursday, every seat in the museum’s cafe was filled by patrons who intently listened to spoken-word poetry. The crowd broke its silence only to erupt into applause, hoots and hollers between every performance.
SPEAK Cafe, which stands for Song, Poetry, Art and Knowledge, aims to create a safe space for community members to hone their craft, and express themselves, Robinson said.
“I think that art is where resistance starts,” she said. “It’s where a lot of voices are found.”
Allison O’Hern, an English teacher at Rantoul Township High School, said the program allows students to see art they don’t usually have the opportunity to see.
“It’s lovely seeing them have connections with those stories that are represented in [the art], and feeling seen and feeling a sense of inspiration,” O’Hern said.
ArtSPEAK helps enrich students with both performance art and visual art alike, said Andrea Cox, an art teacher at Rantoul Township High School.
Cox said her students come in every January for an art tour and are challenged to find a piece to take inspiration from. The works they create will be displayed at Krannert Art Museum at the upcoming Boneyard Art Festival on April 10.
“It’s always magical ‘cause we’re their teachers, so we can tell them all the time that their artwork is beautiful, that they have stories, but when there’s somebody in the community coming up and pausing and really engaging with their art, it’s a moment that every teacher prays that their kid can have,” Cox said.
She said most of her students had never been to a museum prior to their ArtSPEAK experience.
“They feel really special because they have this piece in a professional art show,” Cox said. “They always feel really honored, and it makes them feel a part of an art community that they get to present one of their pieces that everyone in Champaign can come see.”
The next SPEAK Cafe takes place on April 2; The events are free and open to the public.