TESTIMONIALS

Kaydi McQuade, Collaborating Teacher, Providence, RI

"Many of my students are not just feeling the tension between childhood and maturity, but also between foreign and American cultures, native and acquired languages, and the lure of the street against their morality. The Identity Project met them at a crucial crossroads in their lives. It offered them movement/ physicality, poetry, photography, and performance as a lens through which they could express, explore, and discover their sense of who they are. The Identity Project was a profoundly meaningful experience for my students. Alesandra helped my students find a sense of pride in their accomplishments as people and as artists. Many were hesitant at first, but Alesandra guided them through a process of expression that bred enthusiasm and confidence. Not only did my students trust her, but they believed Alesandra when she told them they could make great things. Now my students are experienced performers, published authors, prolific writers. Now they know that they are artists, every day.



Zoe B., 10th grade, Santa Fe, NM

“Over the past few weeks in The Identity Project I have learned to trust myself. I surprised myself in discovering that sometimes I don’t need to think, I just need to do, like in movement improvisation. I learned that I am limitless and can do anything I can set my mind to. I was never stressed while doing my work for this class, but was calm and happy. It soothed me. I also learned that listening is just as important as speaking and that following is just as important as leading. I wish I could do The Identity Project again (hopefully I will in the future!) because I think I would be more courageous from the start.”



Lynnette Haozous, Identity Project Artist Educator, Bernalillo, NM

”As an Artist Educator, one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching was being able to give students/youth the skills they need to heal and be healthy human beings with a strong sense of who they are. This curriculum gives students what they need to go on and do bigger and better things and build upon the skills they’ve learned in The Identity Project. I enjoyed being able to create and work in a fun, creative setting made by The Identity Project and maintained in the classroom […] I believe that partnering with the Indigenous Studies Classroom helped to provide students with a much needed outlet for expressing and regulating the emotions and lingering thoughts of learning of such truths and hard topics of Indigenous Studies and colonial history in school. I feel The Identity Project also helped with healing and strengthening these students understanding of culture, identity, and respect for this region’s diverse cultural history.”



Nalia K., 12th grade, Taos, NM

”I feel like the Identity Project has taken me out of my comfort zone with the opening movements, writing prompts, and projects. Sometimes the prompts have been difficult for me to write about but still opened up my eyes to things about myself I wouldn’t have otherwise realized. Before this class I would have said that poetry is not something I am capable of writing. However, after watching and listening to others creative pieces and trying the prompts myself, I realize that I have a lot to say in poetry format. On top of that, I think expressing myself through poetry is very relieving in a way entirely different than writing an essay. The opening movements we have been asked to do sometimes wanted us to rely on others or at least work with people and that is something I have found that I struggle with. These things combined have definitely opened up my ability to share myself more honestly.”



Sara T., 9th grade, Washington D.C.

“In this class I learned that I really like to express myself through photography and writing. I don’t really like English class, but responding to the writing prompts from this class really made me enjoy creative writing, which is something that I would have never thought I would like! My favorite prompts were “Body Talk” and “The Missing Piece.” Body Talk really made me think deeply about myself, as I never really thought about my relationship with my body. Even though I was not in the pictures I made, I conveyed my ideas through my subject. In “The Missing Piece” I was able to think beyond my body physically and onto more thoughtful things. This made me thinking of using a Black Lives Matter approach.”



Clara Natonabah, Identity Project Artist Educator, Santa Fe, NM

“The Identity Project has given me and my students a way to meet at eye level. You can notice it through their writing. The way that they write, the way that they talk, the way that they walk now is changing, it's evolving. The program has given them the strength and the ability to promote themselves in a way that's a little bit more true to their nature, I feel. As woman, and an Indigenous woman especially, I feel like the role of teacher has been changing over time. And, I think a lot of kids really need support and love, and a sense of family throughout the school day. That is something I can offer them here.”



Brian M., 8th grade, Providence, RI

"When I started this program I didn't want to do it at all. I was scared. I was like, ‘No way, why would I want to express my feelings and stuff like that.’ But actually, with Alesandra's help, I actually liked it a lot. It makes me feel like if I get it out there, I'll get it off my mind and out of my body. And now I think I like to express myself this way."



Alex H., 12th grade, Santa Fe, NM

“I learned that I am creative and have a need to change the world through my ideas. I also learned that usually my first thought is my best thought and I shouldn’t over-think. It is so important to take risks and really just go for something, it generally leads to the most special and beautiful work.”



Alex Lucini, Collaborating Teacher, Providence, RI

“The Identity Project has helped me as a teacher profoundly. When my students show up in class and don't have their uniforms on, their pants are down by their knees, and they’re talking incessantly to the girls next to them, I just perceive them as being out of line. I don't know my students, or get a chance to know them, the way that I would like to know them, because as educators we have to abide by the curriculum and all of the things that we need to teach. I really don’t get the opportunity to learn about my students. Through this project, for me and for all of the other teachers, we got to know really important things about our students. Because of this program, I hope my students will go out and become leaders. I hope they will work with other kids and show their next school community what they did here. Maybe people won't make misconceptions or stereotype them anymore for being something that they are not."



Lorraine L., 10th grade, Santa Fe, NM

“I learned that I can be so much more than just a dancer. I can be a writer, a singer, a poet. I could also be all of them at once. I also learned that I am not just a one-sided person.”



Katharine P., 11th grade, Taos, NM

“Identity Project has helped me decompress from my hectic life. The activities we work on help change the way I see things in everyday life. This is my favorite class of the day giving me opportunities to practice creative thinking, and working on art skills and understanding of writing. This class has helped me get closer to my peers and friends.”



Ashley Johnson, Co-Executive Director, The Literacy Lab, Washington D.C.

“Alesandra Zsiba conducted The Identity Project with our high-need elementary students in Washington, DC. For a population of students who have experienced a high degree of trauma and loss in their short lives, The Identity Project provided them with a way to see themselves positively and literally through a different lens. Alesandra expertly guided the students to build their confidence, and she wove in literacy themes as students explored their self worth and individuality through poetry and photography. In our final showcase of each student’s work, the auditorium erupted in smiles and cheers from students and parents alike as each student’s portrait appeared. The students walked out of The Identity Project experience with their heads held higher and their backs a little straighter than when they began thanks to the careful development of the curriculum and the thoughtful and skillful implementation.”



Maddy P., 9th grade, West Hartford, CT

“Eight weeks ago I was uncomfortable and quiet. Now I am more confident and creative. I am not afraid of looking a little funny or weird. I have grown as an artist by connecting words and movement to create an even stronger idea. I experienced an “ah-ha!” moment when we did our graffiti pieces. For me, everything clicked in to place and I could connect my movement with a picture, a meaning, and an idea. It was so much fun!”



Olivia F., 11th grade, Washignton D.C.

“In The Identity Project I learned that I create my best and most meaningful work when I write. Whether the means journaling, answering prompts, or creating poetry. I have opened my mind to more abstract forms of thinking and seeing. I’ve also learned not to wait for artistic opportunities, but to make them myself. At the end of the semester, the self-portrait project really resonated with me because it asked me to expire parts of myself that I would not have otherwise. It also encouraged me to take a step back and look at myself in a different light.”



Katelyn C., 10th grade, Santa Fe, NM

“I have learned to see the world around me - to really look at it - and bring back memories which I am able to capture in photographs. I have changed my techniques in photographing and I learned to dig deeper into myself and discover parts of myself that I never knew existed. I loved the one-on-one discussions. They helped me take ideas and create something magical, things I never knew I was capable of. I am grateful to Alesandra for showing me how amazing photography is and for always believing in me.”



Eliza Sareyan, 11th grade, West Hartford, CT

“In The Identity Project I learned that I am much more confident to share myself as an artist than I thought. I learned that partnering in dance is much more than a physical experience and how that contributes to dance and my own experience as an artist. I would describe myself as an artist in my understanding of how movement correlates with words that do not exist. I am able to create feeling in another platform. I am an artist in my willingness to collaborate and eagerness to watch and comment on other peoples art and what I see.”



Aime F., 10th grade, West Hardford, CT

“Before The Identity Project I thought of collaboration as talking as a group about your own ideas and deciding on a joint idea. In the dance world I thought of it as dancers getting together and choreographing a dance from beginning to end all together. Now know that what happens is not something forced, it is something that becomes.”

Duncan S., 11th grade, Taos, NM

“The Identity Project with Ms. Esme and Ms. Sam at Taos Academy has greatly helped me during the coronavirus quarantine in several different ways. Because all students in New Mexico were not allowed to go back to school after the announcement of a statewide quarantine, we have all been in isolation. With the help of the Identity Project, we have been able to see and somewhat interact with one another over video meetings. We have discussed the challenges of being in social distancing, how this is affecting others, and we have worked to overcome this challenge. I love how we are able to move around with teacher and student led movements that warm up the body. Overall, I love how the identity project has allowed me to see others, interact, and look forward to a good time.”



Susannah P., 9th grade, Washington D.C.

”After experiencing this class my understanding of visual expression shifted from wanting to make pretty photographs, to wanting to make people feel something because of my work. I surprised myself through my writing and photography. I shared things in my work that I had previously kept under wraps.”



Jeiry M., 6th grade, Providence, RI
"In The Identity Project I learned that I was smart. I learned that I can do new things, that I can dance and write a poem. I didn't know that, but now I know!"



Jaime C., 10th grade, Santa Fe, NM

“When I came here I was really shy and nervous. And, I didn’t know any of these people, I didn’t have that many friends. What it brought me to me was all of these people that I know now. Getting to know each and every one of them every day brought me happiness. I feel like I’m not shy any more.”



Trey Pickett, Identity Project Artist Educator, Santa Fe, NM

“This program is not only safe, but it is creative in the sense that it gives room for a student to take ownership of who they are.”



Nathan Havner, Collaborating Teacher, Washington D.C

”I have taught in DC Public Schools for the last 14 years, among some extremely talented people. Never before, however, have I been as impressed as I was last week upon seeing Alesandra Zsiba's work with The Identity Project. The photography and poetry she facilitated with the students truly captured the essence of each child and, I feel, childhood. After 115 days together I feel like I know my students pretty well. After reading one of my student’s, Max's words, "if you tear your shoe you're looking at the universe..." I had a chance to see a side of him he has never shown me in class." .