Throughout the summer, our instructors will once again be joined by several visiting artists who work and create art within Miami and beyond. Our hope is to introduce our campers to working artists whose careers may inspire them to visualize their own creative lives in a new light. In addition, our guests can help connect our students to the greater artistic community with Miami and beyond. Now that we are less than 1 week away from starting our first camp session, we thought it would be a great time to introduce one of our visiting artists. Below, you can find our Q&A with Elia Khalaf, a visual artist and graphic designer living between New York and Miami. He has worked as a designer for EXILE Books, Books are Nice, and The New World Symphony. Elia is currently spearheading a project called Made Up Memories as a Miami Awesome Foundation grantee.
1. What kind of work do you do? My work deals with issues of public amnesia and construction of identity through narrative bookmaking and community-based art.
2. What are you looking forward to most during your time with PageSlayers? I am thrilled to foster a safe playspace of self-expression with PageSlayers. I can’t wait to see the campers’ inspirations and inner-worlds materializing!
3. What lesson are you most excited to share with the campers? That we are walking, talking stories and we CAN author our own lives.
4. Why do you think it is important for students in Miami to be exposed to art and creative writing at a young age? Young students in Miami, for all this city’s cultural richness and diversity, need to be exposed to art and creative writing to be inspired—to witness the power of collaboration, and to develop their own unique voice.
5. Where can students, parents, and supporters find your work? Check out my portfolio at elia-khalaf.com or my Instagram, @eleeyuh.